Biden to designate 300 members of Russian state Duma as early as Thursday

Washington [US], March 23 (ANI/Sputnik)

US President Joe Biden is expected to announce this week new sanctions against more than 300 members of the Russian State Duma over Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal reported citing American officials.

The report said on Tuesday that the Biden administration could announce the sanctions as soon as Thursday when Biden will meet with NATO leaders to discuss the situation in Ukraine. Earlier in the day, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden will announce new sanctions against Russia while he is in Brussels meeting with NATO and European partners.

The report, citing US officials, confirmed that the sanctions will be announced in coordination with the European Union and members of the G7.

A US official said the planned sanctions packaged are often postponed and changed during the interagency review process prior to being finalized.

Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24 with the goals of demilitarizing the country, neutralizing nationalist battalions, ensuring Ukraine remains a neutral country and that Crimea is recognized as a part of Russia that cannot be taken away. Russia also seeks to ensure Ukraine also recognizes the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics are independent states.

According to the Sastellum.Al sanctions tracker, Russia has become the most sanctioned country in the world with more than 7,100 restrictive measures imposed against the country since 2014 - a majority of which came after Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February.

On March 20, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it had recorded 2,361 civilian casualties since the start of the operation in Ukraine, including 902 deaths and 1,459 injuries. 992 of the total casualties occurred in Donetsk and Luhansk and 1,369 in other regions of Ukraine, according to the OHCHR.