Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace

Announcing new economic sanctions on Russia, and calling Russian movements Tuesday "the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine," President Joe Biden also addressed how Russian sanctions might be felt in the U.S.

In a similar move to sanctions the European Union just announced, Biden said the new sanctions would target large Russian banks, Russia's sovereign debt, and, starting Wednesday, the Russian elite and their relatives.

"None of us -- none of us should be fooled," Biden said. "None of us will be fooled. There is no justification. Further Russian assault in Ukraine remains a severe threat in the days ahead."

 Biden said that the sanctions were just the "first tranche" of sanctions in response to their actions and have been coordinated with allies and partners, including with Germany on halting the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, and warned that imposing these sanctions against Russia could come at a cost to Americans as well.

"As I said last week, defending freedom will have costs for us as well and here at home. We need to be honest about that," Biden said. "But as we do this, I'm going to take robust action to make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours."

"I want to limit the pain to the American people, fueling at the gas pump. This is critical to me," he added.

Notably, Biden did not mention personally targeting Putin, which he had previously said he was considering. The president did not take questions from reporters.

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Justin Gomez

President Joe Biden announced new sanctions on Russia on Tuesday following Russian President Vladimir Putin signaling he would send "military assistance" to the two Russian-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine whose independence Moscow has recognized.

"This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as he indicated and asked permission to be able to do from his Duma," Biden said in remarks from the White House. "So I'm going to begin to impose sanctions in response -- far beyond the steps we and our allies and partners implemented in 2014."

"If Russia goes further with this invasion, we stand prepared to go further as with sanctions," Biden continued.

In his first public remarks since Friday on Ukraine, the president said Putin is "setting up a rationale to take more territory by force" -- and "to go much further."

"Who in the Lord's name does Putin think gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belonged to his neighbors? This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands a firm response from the international community," he added.

Ahead of an update from President Joe Biden on the situation at Ukraine's border, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling on the president to impose harder sanctions on Russia following criticism that sanctions announced Monday were limited.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said in Kentucky this afternoon he hopes Biden will say that the U.S. is "going to impose the toughest possible sanctions." 

He also said any path forward should ensure that the Nord Stream 2 pipeline not be allowed to ever proceed.

"So as all of this unfolds let me be perfectly clear: The toughest possible sanctions plus no Nord Stream 2. Not now. Not tomorrow. Not ever," McConnell said.

In an earlier statement, he also called on the U.S. and NATO allies to send support to Ukraine, "including arms," and warned, "The world is watching."

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a Democrat, has also called on the Biden Administration to impose "severe sanctions," telling CNN Tuesday that it's time to "stop equivocating" on whether or not there has been an invasion.

He also said he believes, though he said he couldn't disclose intelligence, that more Russian troops have arrived in Ukraine overnight.

-ABC News' Allison Pecorin

Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday it will begin evacuating its personnel from its embassy in Ukraine in "the very nearest time," according to Russian state news agencies.

RIA Novosti reported that the foreign ministry has claimed its staff received threats and that Ukraine has not reacted to them, while Ukrainian officials have maintained that Russia is the aggressor on the ground.

-ABC News' Patrick Reevell