US eye$ pro-Russ. Ukrainians

The United States is set to levy financial sanctions on pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine as tensions grow between Washington and Moscow — with Secretary of State Antony Blinken due to meet his Russian counterpart Friday.

US officials told The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday that the sanctions are meant to pressure Russia into pulling back from a potential invasion of its western neighbor.

The penalties could be announced as early as Thursday and will freeze the assets of at least four people, the Journal reported. The outlet noted that the sanctions will target Ukrainian nationals rather than Russian citizens, in an apparent attempt to signal that the Biden administration is still interested in pursuing diplomacy with the Kremlin.

Approximately 100,000 Russian troops have massed along the Russia-Ukraine border in recent months.