The European Union announced plans to sanction Russian oil imports on Wednesday, as the bloc tries to ramp up pressure on Moscow's economy. U.S. President Joe Biden separately said he would speak to leaders of the G-7 advanced economies about more potential sanctions on Russia.
The moves come as Russian forces launch more attacks on eastern Ukraine and the blockaded Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. A group of civilians who were evacuated earlier this week from the complex, which is a last stronghold for Ukrainian fighters in the besieged port city, reached relative safety on Tuesday after arriving in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia. Ukraine's deputy prime minister said a few hundred civilians are still in the steel plant, however.
Elsewhere, Russia has announced an entry ban on a large group of Japanese officials and other prominent individuals.
In addition, Biden on Tuesday pressed Congress to pass his massive $33 billion Ukraine aid package during a visit to a Lockheed Martin plant in Alabama that manufactures Javelin anti-tank missiles.
"We built the weapons and equipment that helped defend freedom and sovereignty in Europe years ago," Biden said, referring to America's industrial effort during World War II. "That's true again today."