The United States and its allies are responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin's latest escalation of the war — a decree that four partially occupied regions of Ukraine are now part of Russia.
In Washington, President Joe Biden had harsh words for Putin. The U.S. and NATO allies, Biden said, "are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats. He's not going to scare us and he doesn't intimidate us."
"America is fully prepared with our NATO allies to defend every single inch of NATO territory," Biden said at the White House. "Every single inch. So, Mr. Putin, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Every inch."
The U.S. also announced new sanctions on Russia. Hundreds of Russian lawmakers and the family members of senior national security officials were designated as targets of the sanctions.
The actions also target front companies outside of Russia that were created this year to help Russian defense contractors evade already existing sanctions and export controls.
The Treasury Department said the U.S.-led sanctions campaign has "devastated Russia's ability to access foreign components and technology. As a result, Russia's defense-industrial base is desperate to provision its war efforts and has resorted to third-country intermediaries and suppliers."