White House Says U.S. to Impose Sanctions on Vladimir Putin and Top Aide

The United States will impose a slate of sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the White House announced Friday.

The United Kingdom and the European Union had announced similar sanctions earlier in the day.

Putin and Lavrov join a growing list of elite Russian government officials the U.S. has sanctioned in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

Twice this week, the United States has announced new sanctions against Russia’s largest banks and its sovereign debt, cutting them off from the U.S. banking system.