AP
President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order authorizing sanctions on seven Russian officials, the day after a controversial referendum in which Crimea voted overwhelmingly to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.
In response to the "Russian government's actions contributing to the crisis in Ukraine," the new executive order lists seven individuals designated for sanctions - Vladislav Surkov, Sergey Glazyev, Leonid Slutsky, Andrei Klishas, Valentina Matviyenko, Dmitry Rogozin, and Yelena Mizulina. Surkov and Glazyev are key aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition to the new executive order, the Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions imposed on four other officials involved in the Ukrainian crisis. They are Crimea-based separatist leaders Sergey Aksyonov and Vladimir Konstantinov; former Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Viktor Medvedchuk; and former President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych.
Those sanctions were issued under a previous executive order signed by Obama on March 6.
The White House is holding a conference call on the sanctions now. We'll update with more information as it becomes available.