The European Union sanctions are aimed at "strangling" Russia's economic functions, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Thursday.

"We need to be tough in our response, so the sanctions that we will propose will be large-scale," he underlined.

He explained that they will be aimed at "strangling the economic functioning of Russia - banking, financial measures, measures against technology transfer, industrial, export measures."

US sanctions target 80% of all Russian banking assets

New sanctions over Ukraine target almost 80% of all banking assets in Russia and will have a long-lasting effect on the Russian economy, the Treasury said on Thursday. 

"The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today imposed expansive economic measures, in partnership with allies and partners, that target the core infrastructure of the Russian financial system," the release said.

The sanctions are set to include all of Russia's largest financial institutions and the ability of public and private entities to generate capital, and Russia would be barred from the global financial system.

"The actions also target nearly 80 percent of all banking assets in Russia and will have a deep and long-lasting effect on the Russian economy and financial system," the department continued.

The sanctions target many prominent Russian institutions, such as Sberbank, VTB, Russian Agricultural Bank, Gazprombank, and Novikombank.

Defense, aerospace, maritime sectors on the line

The United States is imposing export control sanctions against Russia's defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors over a military operation in Ukraine, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. 

"The US Commerce Department, through its Bureau of Industry and Security, responded to Russia's further invasion of Ukraine by implementing a sweeping series of stringent export controls that will severely restrict Russia's access to technologies," the department's release further said.

They primarily target Russia's defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors, and Washington would be cutting off Russia's access to vital technological inputs, key sectors of its industrial sectors, and would undermine Russia's "strategic ambitions to exert influence on the world stage."

According to the department, under these sanctions, Moscow would not be able to acquire many high-tech items, including semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors.

US President Joe Biden played the sanctions card against Russia another time during a White House press conference amid tensions between Washington and Moscow over the former's intention to expand its NATO alliance eastward through Ukraine.

Biden announced Thursday "devastating" Western sanctions on Russia following a closed-door meeting with the group of 7 nations - the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States itself.

The consecutive western sanctions on the Russian federation come after President Vladimir Putin authorized a special military operation in Donbas on Thursday morning, citing neo-Nazi NATO allies moving closer to his nation's border.

Moscow's military operation in Ukraine is not a beginning of a war, but rather an attempt at curbing a global one, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said following Western condemnations of Moscow's operations.

Russia has for months been warning of the threat posed against it by NATO's attempts to expand eastward, which happened simultaneously with an increase in NATO military activity along Russia's borders, and batches of lethal weapons being sent to Ukraine, prompting Russia to request security guarantees from the West. Washington failed to provide the guarantees.

Tensions had been soaring between Russia and Ukraine over the Donbass region and announcing it was intending to sign a decree recognizing the independence of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) and the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). 

The announcement had been preceded by intense Ukrainian shelling of the two republics, and Russia's recognition of their statehood was a move to protect the innocent civilians from the Ukrainian aggressions.