The State Department announced visa restrictions and other sanctions against individuals in the Crimea and Russia who are associated with the Russian military intervention. President Obama signed an executive order initiating the sanctions and warned that further action could be taken. Reuters: President Barack Obama on Thursday ordered the freezing of U.S. assets and a ban on travel into the United States of those involved in the Russian military intervention into the Crimea region of Ukraine. Obama signed an executive order aimed at punishing those Russians and Ukrainians responsible for a Russian move into Crimea, a crisis that has raised old-style Cold War tensions. The order, the White House said in a statement, is "a flexible tool that will allow us to sanction those who are most directly involved in destabilizing Ukraine, including the military intervention in Crimea, and does not preclude further steps should the situation deteriorate." In addition,...(Read Full Post)