The White House is imposing visa restrictions on Russians and Crimeans who it says are “threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

In addition, President Barack Obama has signed an executive order authorizing sanctions against “individuals and entities responsible for activities undermining democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine.”

The new action on visas comes in addition to a U.S. policy denying visas to those involved in human rights abuses related to political oppression in Ukraine.

The White House announcement comes as Western nations have been wrestling with a response to Russia’s military incursion into Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

(AP)