WASHINGTON/LONDON -- The first round of American sanctions on Russia for moving troops into separatist-controlled parts of eastern Ukraine targets mostly two state-owned banks responsible for funding Russian infrastructure development and military-related industries.
U.S. President Joe Biden also announced Wednesday that sanctions would be imposed on executives of Nord Stream 2, the gas pipeline project connecting Germany and Russia. The Switzerland-based operating company itself, a wholly owned unit of Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom, will also fall under the sanctions.