President Biden asks, what gives Putin the right?

The lead starts right now.

Harsh words from President Biden as he punishes Russia and President Vladimir Putin with economic

sanctions and Biden warns, there's worse to come if Putin takes even more of Ukraine

and a pain in the wallet gas price is already soaring and now the Russia Ukraine crisis could

send even more prices surging than the three white men accused of federal hate crimes

for chasing down and killing him on Arbery, learn their fate.

Welcome to the lead.

I'm Jake Tapper.

We start today with our world lead and President Biden this afternoon announcing a series

of new economic sanctions against Russia after what Biden calls Vladimir Putin's flagrant

violation of international law.

The sanctions target two of Russia's main financial institutions and Russian elites and

their family members who are close to the Kremlin.

President Biden saying he's also moving to cut Russia's government off from Western financing

all this in response to Putin officially recognizing as independent territories two parts of

Ukraine, Luhansk and Donetsk, which make up the Dumbass region and ordering Russian troops

into those areas.

It is not clear if these new sanctions will deter Putin, of course, a senior administration

official told me that today's sanctions were a quote, wallet, but acknowledged that

the Biden administration was holding on to most of its arsonal, given the administration's

belief that Russia could still launch a full invasion of the entirety of Ukraine.

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