US President Joe Biden has announced he was ordering heavy financial sanctions against Russian banks and oligarchs, declaring that Moscow had flagrantly violated international law in what he called the "beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine".
"None of us will be fooled" by Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims about Ukraine, the US President said.
"Who in the Lord's name does Putin think he is to declare new countries? This is a flagrant violation of international law."
And he said more sanctions could be on the way if Mr Putin proceeds further.
Mr Biden said he was also moving additional US troops to the Baltic states on NATO's eastern flank bordering Russia.
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Mr Biden joined the 27 European Union members who unanimously agreed on Tuesday to levy their own initial set of sanctions targeting Russian officials over their actions in Ukraine.
Mr Biden announced the US would impose sanctions against Russian financial institutions, which he said could be ratcheted up.
"I'm going to begin to impose sanctions in response, far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014. If Russia goes further with this invasion we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions," Mr Biden said.
The US President said new economic sanctions would target two major Russian financial institutions.
"We're implementing full blockage sanctions on two large Russian financial institutions – VEB and their military bank.
"We are implementing sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. That means we have cut off Russia's government from Western financing. It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either."
Mr Biden said US sanctions would target Russia's elites and their family members.
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He also pledged to work with Germany to stop the building of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia.
"Because of Russia's actions we've worked with Germany to ensure that Nord Stream 2 will not, as I promised, will not move forward."
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Mr Biden pledged his administration was using "every tool at our disposal" to limit the effect of sanctions against Russia on domestic gas prices, acknowledging that Americans will likely see rising prices at the pump in the coming months.
"As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs, for us as well and here at home," Mr Biden said.
"We need to be honest about that. But as we do this, I'm going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours."
UK sanctions to hit banks, individuals
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier unveiled the "first tranche" of British sanctions on Russia, condemning Mr Putin's Ukraine aggression and saying Europe must "brace ourselves" for his next steps.
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Mr Johnson told British MPs that people "will struggle to understand or to contemplate how, in the year 2022, a national leader might calmly and deliberately plot the destruction of a peaceful neighbour."
"Yet the evidence of his own words suggest that is exactly what President Putin is doing," he said.
The UK will sanction five Russian banks and three "very high net worth" individuals, Mr Johnson said in Parliament.
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