
Western nations impose sanctions and cut off key pipeline with Russia after Putin orders troops into Ukraine's breakaway regions
CNN
The threat of a full-scale war weighed heavy in Europe on Tuesday as the international community scrambled to finalize sanctions and further rounds of diplomacy following Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to order troops into separatist-held parts of eastern Ukraine.
It comes as diplomatic efforts to avoid an escalation appear to have stalled after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced he had canceled a planned meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva this week.
President Joe Biden said on Tuesday the US will sanction Russia's financial institutions and oligarchs. The United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia and Japan also announced fresh sanctions on Russia.

The White House is making clear it views President Donald Trump’s Friday Oval Office showdown with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an overwhelming win underscoring Trump’s “America First” leadership, dispatching top officials and allies on the airwaves to amplify Trump’s handling of the situation even as European leaders are putting on a key show of force of unity for Ukraine and its leader.