: Here Are the Toughest Sanctions That the U.S. Could Impose on Russia over Ukraine #WorldNEWS WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday rolled out the first of what the U. S. says could be

Here Are the Toughest Sanctions That the U.S. Could Impose on Russia over Ukraine #WorldNEWS
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday rolled out the first of what the U. S. says could be an ever-fiercer, ever-broader cascade of financial sanctions and penalties over Russia’s moves against Ukraine.
Tuesday’s first installment of sanctions hit members of Putin’s inner circle and their families and two banks that the U. S. considers especially crucial to the Kremlin and Russia’s military. Another new U. S. measure limits Russias power to raise money abroad.
U. S. officials made clear they were holding in possible reserve more devastating measures, in case Russia escalates actions threatening Ukraines territory and sovereignty. The Biden administration says those more sweeping penalties would cripple Russias ability to do business at home and abroad, and likely bring on a recession there.
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Heres a look at some of the tougher possible penalties that U. S. leaders are holding in abeyance — while watching for new Russian steps against Ukraine. The U. S. has yet to fully disclose which of the options it will use.

Peter KovalevTASS via Getty Images A worker checks measuring equipment at the Slavyanskaya compressor station, the starting point of the Nord Stream 2 offshore natural gas pipeline, on July 27, 2021.
The Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline
Germany announced Tuesday that it would suspend its certification of the newly built but never operated Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream 2 pipeline. A multibillion-dollar project of Russias Gazprom energy company and European companies, the pipeline would carry Russia’s natural gas to the lucrative markets of Europe. Its been a top target of the Biden administration and Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike, who say the project was a strategic mistake from the start, increasing Putin’s political power over Europe by prolonging its dependence on Russia’s natural gas.
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Reluctant to split with ally Germany, Biden has warded off repeated attempts in Congress to impose financial sanctions on any company or person that does business that involves Nord Stream 2, effectively making it financially impossible for the pipeline to operate. Its unclear if the U. S. might still impose its own sanctions on Nord Stream 2, to amplify the actions that Germany just took.
Biden insisted in recent weeks that Nord Stream had no chance if Russia invaded Ukraine. “Then there will be no longer a Nord Stream 2. We will bring an end to it,” Biden said.
Sanctions on Russian individuals and firms over their role in the Ukraine crisis
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