U.S. plans to hit Putin's inner circle with new sanctions

The U.S. and European Union will impose new sanctions as early as today on Russian companies and individuals close to President Vladimir Putin over the escalating crisis in Ukraine, officials said. "We will be looking to designate people who are in his inner circle, who have a significant impact on the Russian economy," Deputy White House National Security Adviser Tony Blinken said on CBS's "Face the Nation" program yesterday. The seizure of international inspectors by pro-Russian separatists last week escalated the crisis after Russia began military exercises on Ukraine's border where the North Atlantic Treaty Organization says Putin has massed about 40,000 troops. Ukraine's southern air-defense forces are in "operational readiness," the Defense Ministry said yesterday on its website.

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