"We make clear that failure to settle the crisis peacefully, and any steps by Russia to destabilize Ukraine, will have far reaching consequences," he said. The European Union on Monday imposed sanctions on 21 Russian and Ukrainian officials, and the United States announced sanctions the same day against 11 people — seven top Russian government officials and politicians and four Ukrainians, including ousted president Viktor Yanukovych and two Crimean separatist leaders. Responding to Russia’s latest moves to formalize its annexation of Crimea, President Obama on Thursday announced new sanctions against Moscow and authorized possible future penalties against “key sectors of the Russian economy.” 
 
 Russia promptly retaliated by banning nine U.S. lawmakers and officials from entering the country. The new executive order that Obama signed separately authorizes the Treasury, if Obama so decides in the future, to impose sanctions against additional Russian entities — which he described as constituting key sectors of the economy — in the event that Russia takes further action such as invading the rest of Ukraine. STORY: Russia takes over Ukraine's military bases, officers 
 
 STORY: Timeline: Key events in Ukraine 
 
 "We've sent a clear message to Mr. Putin that we'll probably be doing more stuff over the next several days, and ultimately, if we see the continuation of the process, then in coordination with our European allies, you can expect even more disruptive economic actions that could end up having a significant impact on the Russian economy." "We want the Ukrainian people to determine their own destiny and have good relations with the United States, Russia, Europe -- anyone they choose," he said, calling for continued diplomatic efforts. Sanctions lists 
 
 The new U.S. sanctions target 20 officials, including senior Russians and "cronies" who hold significant influence in the Russian system, as well as one bank that holds "significant" resources, a senior U.S. administration official told reporters. They include some of the richest men in Russia, as well as one Russian who is in the oil-trade business in Switzerland. Among the 16 government officials listed are Putin's chief of staff, Sergei Ivanov; the speaker of the State Duma, Sergey Naryshkin; and Viktor Ozerov, chairman of the Security and Defense Committee of the Russia parliament's upper house. They are financier Yuri Kovalchuk, labeled Putin's personal banker by a senior U.S. administration official; magnate Gennady Timchenko, whose activities in the energy sector have been directly linked to Putin, according to the Treasury; and businessmen Arkady and Boris Rotenberg. The list of banned Americans includes Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and three top Obama aides, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. I would suggest if they have any interest in doing business outside the U.S., they will have difficulty doing so.” 
 
 The bank will be frozen out of the dollar, and correspondent accounts with U.S. banks will be terminated, the official said, adding that sanctioned individuals “will be prevented from operating around the world to the greatest extent possible.” 
 
 The other Americans banned from entering Russia are Caroline Atkinson, deputy national security adviser for international economic affairs; presidential aides Daniel Pfeiffer and Benjamin Rhodes; Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) Lavrov, it said, complained about “ongoing violence” by “ultranationalist and extremist forces,” who he claimed were targeting businessmen, journalists, dissenters, Russian speakers and “our compatriots.” 
 
 Responding to his inclusion in the ban, McCain said in a statement: “I guess this means my spring break in Siberia is off, my Gazprom stock is lost, and my secret bank account in Moscow is frozen. Nonetheless, I will never cease my efforts on behalf of the freedom, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea.” 
 
 Menendez said in a statement: “President Putin’s military invasion and annexation of Crimea is brutal, totally unacceptable, and sadly returns us to a period of Cold War aggression and hostility. Among them is Yuri Kovalchuk, an old Putin friend from St. Petersburg who is known as “Putin’s banker.” 
 
 Kovalchuk and another person on the list, Putin aide Andrei Fursenko, are owners of Bank Rossiya, the sanctioned bank. It has $10 billion in assets and handles the accounts of some top government officials, the Treasury said, adding that the bank has relationships with banks in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her parliament that Europe would expand the number of individuals punished with travel bans and asset freezes for their role in the Russian takeover of Crimea. Its most significant action was the takeover of the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol, where pro-Russia militias and Russian regular troops stormed the base and checked Ukrainians at the gate as they left toting bags of personal belongings. Hide Caption 12 of 132 Photos: Photos: Crisis in Ukraine Crisis in Ukraine – A member of pro-Russian forces takes down a Ukrainian flag at the Ukrainian navy headquarters in Sevastopol on March 19. Hide Caption 37 of 132 Photos: Photos: Crisis in Ukraine Crisis in Ukraine – Pro-Russian supporters clash with pro-Ukrainian activists in Donetsk on March 13. Hide Caption 66 of 132 Photos: Photos: Crisis in Ukraine Crisis in Ukraine – People stand on the Ukrainian Navy ship Slavutych while it's at harbor in Sevastopol on March 4. Shamil Zhumatov/Reuters 
 
 After an ultimatum to abandon the base and an hours-long standoff, Russian troops in at least four armored vehicles seized control of one of the last Ukrainian military outposts in Crimea. (Photo: Susan Walsh, AP) 
 
 WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Wednesday there is currently no military option on the table in Ukraine following a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin making Crimea part of the Russian Federation. In Crimea, Ukrainian troops continued to face threats Thursday, as a group of armed men boarded a Ukrainian ship in the Black Sea port of Sevastopol. There's a broad divide between those who support the pro-Western developments in Kiev and those who back Russia's continued influence in Crimea and across Ukraine. In a televised briefing, Andriy Porubiy, secretary of the national defense and security council, said that if the United Nations designates Crimea a "demilitarized zone," Ukraine is prepared to evacuate its military personnel and family members. Speaking in Brussels on Thursday, Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said Kiev was in no hurry to impose a visa regime on Russia, since it could negatively affect Ukrainians living in the predominantly Russian-speaking east of the country. But as European Union leaders prepared to meet in Brussels, there was little sign they would impose the sort of broader financial penalties that many analysts see as necessary to change Russian behavior. Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Ban as saying during a meeting with Putin that he was "deeply concerned" by the situation involving Ukraine and Russia. Ukrainian President Oleksandr Turchynov on Wednesday gave Crimean authorities three hours to release Haiduk and stop harassing the Ukrainian military or face “appropriate measures.” The deadline passed without apparent action. “We have warned repeatedly that using sanctions is a double-edged sword and will hit the United States back,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on its Web site. However, Haiduk was released Thursday morning, according to Turchynov’s office.
– The US won't be sending troops to Crimea anytime soon. President Obama effectively ruled out a military response to Russia's land grab yesterday, USA Today reports. "We do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia," he told KSDK-TV, in an interview ostensibly about raising the minimum wage. "The Ukrainians don't want that, nobody would want that." But Obama said to expect "even more disruptive economic actions that could have a significant impact on the Russian economy." In other Ukraine news: Russian forces freed Ukraine's captured navy commander today, after Ukraine demanded the release of all hostages in Crimea, CNN reports. If they weren't freed by 9pm, acting President Oleksandr Turchynov threatened to take "technical and technological" action—meaning, likely, turning off Crimea's utilities. Russia's defense minister asked Crimea to free the hostages. Even though Ukraine is reportedly pulling troops from the region, its parliament issued a declaration today saying that it still considered Crimea part of the Ukraine, and that "the Ukrainian people will never, under no circumstances, stop fighting for the liberation of Crimea from the occupants." European leaders met today in Sevastopol to discuss further punitive action against Russia, with Angela Merkel saying the EU would issue more travel bans and asset freezes against Russians, the Washington Post reports. But analysts say the measures aren't strong enough to change Russian behavior. Ukraine, too, is taking only restrained steps. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk yesterday backed off Kiev's threat to impose a visa regime, saying it would likely be ineffective, and would inconvenience many Ukrainians. Russia, meanwhile, pulled out a threat of its own. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Russia might revise its stance on Iran's nuclear program in response to US and EU sanctions. "We wouldn't like to use these talks as an element of the game of raising the stakes," he said, according to the AP. "But if they force us into that, we will take retaliatory measures."