Summary
U.S. President Barack Obama Monday slapped sanctions on two top aides to President Vladimir Putin and nine other people linked to Russia's military incursion into Crimea as tensions increased between the two countries over the Ukraine crisis.
Facing one of his toughest foreign policy tests yet, Obama made clear the United States was prepared to impose more sanctions if Russia formally annexed Crimea in response to a weekend referendum in the region that Washington and its allies called illegitimate.
Republican Senator John McCain, however, said Obama did not go far enough when the president cited so few individuals and no businesses.
The U.S. sanctions came in an executive order signed by Obama a day after a Crimea referendum aimed at allowing Russia to annex the autonomous region.
Obama's ability to influence Putin has proved minimal.
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