Biden hits Russia with new sanctions

President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions target Russian banks, oligarchs, and high-tech sectors, Biden said. The United States and its allies will block assets of four large Russian banks, impose export controls and sanction oligarchs.

Biden, for now, held off imposing some of the most severe sanctions, including cutting Russia out of the SWIFT payment system, which allows for the transfers of money from bank to bank around the globe, or Russia's energy sector. Biden announced the sanctions as Ukraine’s government reported mounting casualties as Russian forces attack from the east, north and south.