Foreign ministers of the European Union on Tuesday reached an agreement to impose sanctions on Russia for violating the territorial integrity of neighboring Ukraine.
"Today, we have agreed that the 351 members of the Russia State Duma who voted for this violation of international law and territorial integrity and substantive Ukraine will be listed in our sanctions list," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told a news conference following an extraordinary meeting of EU foreign ministers.
The bloc will also impose sanctions on 27 people and entities that are responsible for undermining or threatening Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, he said.
The measures will target decision-makers threatening Ukraine, the military officials involved in planning and carrying out the intervention, as well as those responsible for disinformation targeting Ukraine.
The bloc will also blacklist entities that finance or benefit from the crisis and banks that finance Russian decision-makers and operations in Ukraine.
"We will also target the ability of the Russian state and government to access our capital and financial markets and services," Borrell added.
The EU will restrict economic relations with the Russian separatist-held Luhansk and Donetsk regions as well, "exactly" like after Russia's 2014 invasion of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Borrell added, "to ensure that those responsible clearly feel the economic consequences of the illegal and aggressive actions."
In a statement, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the "solid" package of sanctions, also warning that the EU would take further action if Russia "continues to escalate this crisis that it has created."
Von der Leyen also praised the German government's decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 project.
"Nord Stream 2 has to be assessed in light of the security of energy supply for the whole of Europe," she stressed, urging the EU to diversify its energy suppliers and switch to renewables.
Tuesday's foreign ministers' decision has to be officially approved by EU capitals to come into effect. The move is expected within hours after Borrell's announcement.
After a speech late Monday saying Russia would recognize the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine as independent, Putin announced that Russia would send troops to those areas in order to "maintain peace."
The announcements drew widespread global condemnation as violations of the United Nations Charter and international law with Western countries vowing to impose harsh new sanctions.
In 2014, after invading Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, Moscow began to support separatist forces in eastern Ukraine against the central government, a policy that it has maintained for the past seven years. The conflict has taken more than 13,000 lives, according to the U.N.
Putin's latest moves follow Russia deploying around 100,000 troops and heavy equipment in and around its neighbor, with the U.S. and Western countries accusing it of setting the stage for an invasion.
Russia has denied it is preparing an invasion and instead claims Western countries undermined its security through NATO's expansion toward its borders.
