Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced economic sanctions on Russia, saying Moscow's actions against Ukraine were "a further invasion of a sovereign state, and it is completely unacceptable."
"We will ban Canadians from engaging in purchases of Russian sovereign debt. And we will apply additional sanctions on to state-backed Russian banks and prevent any financial dealings with them," Trudeau said, announcing a series of measures.
Britain and the European Union also unveiled sanctions in a wave of similar announcements after Putin recognized the self-declared Donetsk and Lugansk rebel republics.
Western officials have been warning for weeks that Putin has been preparing for an all-out invasion of Ukraine, a move that could spark a catastrophic war in Europe.