The background to the sanctions is that Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to recognize the two regions of Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as independent states and sent troops there.

On Tuesday, Russia’s National Assembly, at Putin’s request, also gave the Russian military the green light to use military force outside Russia’s borders.

New satellite images from the American company Maxar Technologies also show what appears to be the new deployment of more than 100 military vehicles in southern Belarus, towards the border with Ukraine. Also, what appear to be many tents can be seen.

Støre doesn’t think Putin will be arrested

IN Political district on NRK, Støre said he believed Putin was fully aware that Russia’s actions in Ukraine would be sanctioned.

Støre, on the other hand, does not believe Putin will be stopped by them.

– No, I don’t think it’s that simple. It seems that Putin has a big project that he has been preparing for a long time and with a large mobilization of military forces, he said, adding:

– Now he is taking actions that violate international law and probably opens the door to the possibility of using more military power. I think this is probably done knowing that there will be sanctions that will hit Russia, the people and the economy.

At the same time, he underlined the importance of Europe sending a signal indicating where the borders are.

Canada followed suit

The sanctions that have been announced are designed to hit Russian oligarchs and other elites and banks, and they will prevent access to Western funding.

After coordinated action by the EU, Britain and the US on Tuesday, and harsh condemnation from EU heads of state and summits, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau followed through on Tuesday evening, local hour.

Trudeau called Russia’s actions in Ukraine an invasion and said Canada, along with its allies, would take steps to economically isolate Russia. At the same time, he announced that the Canadians would send up to 460 soldiers to reinforce the NATO presence in the East.

Western countries have made it clear that the sanctions are only a first round and will be tightened if Russia continues to escalate the situation.

– The invasion has begun

Later, Japan and Australia followed suit.

In Japan, Russian bond borrowing is banned, while some Russians have their assets in Japan frozen. The measures can be stepped up if the situation in Ukraine worsens further, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Russians were behaving like scoundrels and thugs when he outlined his country’s sanctions against Moscow. According to him, targeted entry restrictions and financial sanctions will be introduced against members of the Russian National Security Council, as well as broader sanctions against Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

– The invasion of Ukraine has in practice already begun. This invasion is unwarranted, rampant, unprovoked and unacceptable, Morrison said.

Russian calm

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that he was not particularly concerned about the sanctions that had been announced.

– Our European, American and British colleagues will not calm down until they have used all their opportunities to punish Russia. They are already threatening us with all sorts of different sanctions, Lavrov said, according to Reuters.

Sanctions will eventually backfire on those who introduce them, the Russian side says.

They will “damage global financial and energy markets,” the Russian ambassador to the United States wrote on Facebook, adding that ordinary Americans “will feel the consequences of rising prices.”