UPDATE - US to sanction Russian president, foreign minister over Ukraine operation

ADDS DETAILS

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US will impose sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Friday.

"Following a telephone conversation President (Joe) Biden held with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and in alignment with the decision by our European allies, the United States will join them in sanctioning President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov and members of the Russian national security team," Psaki told reporters at a news conference.

"I expect we'll have more specific details that later this afternoon," she added.

Psaki said the measure has been under consideration and on the table for some time, and "the president's strong view and strong principle from the beginning of this conflict and even before I should say, has been to take the actions and steps in alignment with our European partners, and this is certainly evidence of that."

Earlier, the EU imposed sanctions on Putin and Lavrov, the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson also said Britain would introduce imminent sanctions on the Russian leaders. Johnson urged leaders to “take immediate action against SWIFT to inflict maximum pain on President Putin and his regime.”

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is the global financial network to send and receive information about international bank transfers.

Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine entered its second day Friday with the latest reports indicating that Russian troops were heading toward the capital, Kyiv, from several directions.

Putin ordered the military intervention Thursday, days after recognizing two separatist-held enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

He claimed that Moscow had no plan to occupy the neighboring country but wanted to “demilitarize” and “denazify” Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to install a puppet government and said Ukrainians will defend their country against Russian aggression.