MOSCOW (AP) xe2x80x94 The East-West faceoff over Ukraine escalated dramatically Tuesday, with Russian lawmakers authorizing President Vladimir Putin to use military force outside his country and U.S. President Joe Biden and European leaders responding by slapping sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banks.

Both leaders signaled that an even bigger confrontation could lie ahead. Putin has yet to unleash the force of the 150,000 troops massed on three sides of Ukraine, while Biden held back on even tougher sanctions that could cause economic turmoil for Russia but said they would go ahead if there is further aggression.

The measures, accompanied by the repositioning of additional U.S. troops to the Baltic nations on NATOxe2x80x99s eastern flank bordering Russia, came as Russian forces rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after Putin said he was recognizing the independence of the separatist regions in defiance of U.S. and European demands.

Speaking at the White House, Biden said the Kremlin had flagrantly violated international law in what he called the xe2x80x9cbeginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.xe2x80x9d He warned of more sanctions if Putin went further.

xe2x80x9cWe are united in our support of Ukraine,xe2x80x9d Biden said. xe2x80x9cWe are united in our opposition to Russian aggression.xe2x80x9d When it comes to Russian claims of a justification or pretext for an invasion, Biden said, xe2x80x9cNone of us should be fooled. None of us will be fooled. There is no justification.xe2x80x9d

Hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the threat of invasion, which U.S. officials have for weeks portrayed as all but inevitable, appeared to evaporate. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken canceled plans for a Thursday meeting in Geneva with his Russian counterpart, saying it would not be productive and that Russiaxe2x80x99s actions indicated Moscow was not serious about a peaceful path to resolving the crisis.

Western nations sought to present a united front, with more than two dozen European Union members unanimously agreeing to levy their own initial set of sanctions against Russian officials. Germany also said it was halting the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia xe2x80x94 a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europexe2x80x99s reliance on Russian energy.

The U.S., meanwhile, moved to cut off Russiaxe2x80x99s government from Western finance, sanctioning two of its banks and blocking it from trading in its debt on American and European markets. The administrationxe2x80x99s actions hit civilian leaders in Russiaxe2x80x99s leadership hierarchy and two Russian banks considered especially close to the Kremlin and Russiaxe2x80x99s military, with more than $80 billion in assets. That includes freezing all of those banksxe2x80x99 assets under U.S. jurisdictions.

Biden, though, did hold back some of the broadest and toughest of the financial penalties contemplated by the U.S., including sanctions that would reinforce the hold that Germany put on any startup of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline; an export ban that would deny Russia U.S. high tech for its industries and military; and sweeping bans that could cripple Russiaxe2x80x99s ability to do business with the rest of the world.

Biden said he was moving additional U.S. troops to the Baltics, though he described the deployments as purely xe2x80x9cdefensive,xe2x80x9d asserting, xe2x80x9cWe have no intention of fighting Russia.xe2x80x9d The U.S. is sending about 800 infantry troops and 40 attack aircraft to NATOxe2x80x99s eastern flank from other locations within Europe, according to a senior defense official. In addition, a contingent of F-35 strike fighters and AH-64 Apache attack helicopters will also be relocated.

Earlier Tuesday, members of Russiaxe2x80x99s upper house, the Federation Council, voted unanimously to allow Putin to use military force outside the country xe2x80x94 effectively formalizing a Russian military deployment to the rebel regions, where an eight-year conflict has killed nearly 14,000 people.

Shortly afterward, Putin laid out three conditions to end the crisis that has threatened to plunge Europe back into war, raising the specter of massive casualties, energy shortages across the continent and global economic chaos.

Putin said the crisis could be resolved if Kyiv recognizes Russiaxe2x80x99s sovereignty over Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Moscow annexed after seizing it from Ukraine in 2014, renounces its bid to join NATO and partially demilitarizes. The West has decried the annexation of Crimea as a violation of international law and has previously flatly rejected permanently barring Ukraine from NATO.

Asked whether he has sent any Russian troops into Ukraine and how far they could go, Putin responded: xe2x80x9cI havenxe2x80x99t said that the troops will go there right now.xe2x80x9d He added that xe2x80x9citxe2x80x99s impossible to forecast a specific pattern of action xe2x80x94 it will depend on a concrete situation as it takes shape on the ground.xe2x80x9d

The EU announced initial sanctions aimed at the 351 Russian lawmakers who voted for recognizing the two separatist regions in Ukraine, as well as 27 other Russian officials and institutions from the defense and banking sectors. They also sought to limit Moscowxe2x80x99s access to EU capital and financial markets.

With tensions rising and a broader conflict looking more likely, the White House began referring to the Russian deployments in the region known as the Donbas as an xe2x80x9cinvasionxe2x80x9d after initially hesitating to use the term xe2x80x94 a red line that Biden had said would result in severe sanctions.

xe2x80x9cWe think this is, yes, the beginning of an invasion, Russiaxe2x80x99s latest invasion into Ukraine,xe2x80x9d Jon Finer, principal deputy national security adviser, said on CNN. xe2x80x9cAn invasion is an invasion, and that is what is underway.xe2x80x9d

The White House announced limited sanctions targeting the rebel regions on Monday evening soon after Putin said he was sending in troops. A senior Biden administration official, who briefed reporters about those sanctions, noted xe2x80x9cthat Russia has occupied these regions since 2014xe2x80xb3 and that xe2x80x9cRussian troops moving into Donbas would not itself be a new step.xe2x80x9d

Western leaders have long warned Moscow would look for cover to invade xe2x80x94 and just such a pretext appeared to come Monday, when Putin recognized the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk separatist regions. The Kremlin then raised the stakes further by saying that recognition extends even to the large parts of those two regions now held by Ukrainian forces, including the major Azov Sea port of Mariupol. He added, however, that the rebels should eventually negotiate with Ukraine.

Condemnation from around the world was quick. In Washington, lawmakers from both parties in Congress vowed continued U.S. support for Ukraine, even as some pushed for swifter and even more severe sanctions on Russia. Senators had been considering a sanctions package but held off as the White House pursued its strategy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would consider breaking diplomatic ties with Russia, and Kyiv recalled its ambassador in Moscow.

If Putin pushes farther into Ukraine, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg insisted the West would move in lockstep. xe2x80x9cIf Russia decides once again to use force against Ukraine, there will be even stronger sanctions, even a higher price to pay,xe2x80x9d he said.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the U.K. would slap sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals. He warned a full-scale offensive would bring xe2x80x9cfurther powerful sanctions.xe2x80x9d

Zelenskyy said he was calling up some of the countryxe2x80x99s military reservists but added there was no need for a full military mobilization.

In an address to the nation, Zelenskyy said his decree applied only to those assigned to the so-called operational reserve, which is typically activated during ongoing hostilities, and covers xe2x80x9ca special period of time,xe2x80x9d without clarifying what that means.

xe2x80x9cToday there is no need for a full mobilization. We need to quickly add additional staff to the Ukrainian army and other military formations,xe2x80x9d he said. The head of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov, said earlier this year that Ukraine can call up up to 2.5 million people.

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Karmanau reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Madhani and Tucker reported from Washington. Jill Lawless in London; Lorne Cook in Brussels; Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal; Dasha Litvinova in Moscow; Geir Moulson and Frank Jordans in Berlin; Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations; Ellen Knickmeyer, Robert Burns, Matthew Lee, Zeke Miller, Chris Megerian and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

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This story has been updated to correct that Mariupol is on the Azov Sea, not Black Sea.

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Follow APxe2x80x99s coverage of the Ukraine crisis at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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