Ukraine crisis: US orders sanctions on Russia backed regions

Washington, Feb 22: The United States has imposed sanctions on two Russian backed areas in the eastern Ukraine's Donbass region.

A senior US official however declined to characterise whether Russian President Vladimir Putin's order for Russian armed forces to conduct peacekeeping there counts as an invasion.

We are going to asses what Russia has done, the official told reporters. The official also stressed that Russian forces have already been deployed covertly in the separatist areas for the past 8 years.

Russian troops moving into Donbass would not be a new step. We'll continue to pursue diplomacy until the tanks roll, he said.

US President Joe Biden signed a new order to prohibit new investment, trade and financing by US persons to, from or in the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine.

"Russia's decision is yet another example of President Putin's flagrant disrespect for international law and norms," he said, adding in a separate tweet that the United States "will take appropriate steps in coordination with partners,"US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken said.