As announced earlier, the United States targeted Russian banks and elites with a new package of sanctions on Wednesday, including banning Americans from investing in Russia, in response to what President Joe Biden condemned as Russian "atrocities" in Ukraine.

The new sanctions hit Russia's State-run Sberbank, the country's largest lender, which holds one-third of Russia's total banking assets, and Alfabank, the country's fourth largest financial institution, U.S. officials said. The banks however said that the new sanctions would not have a significant impact on their operations.

Energy transactions were exempted from the latest measures, the officials said.

The United States is also sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin's two adult daughters, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's wife and daughter, and members of Russia's security council, the officials said.

The White House also said Biden was signing an executive order that "includes a prohibition on new investment in Russia by U.S. persons wherever located, which will further isolate Russia from the global economy." This will include a ban on venture capital and mergers, officials said.

The U.S. Justice Department also charged Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev with violating sanctions imposed on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine.

-Reuters