President Barack Obama announced on Monday that the U.S. will impose more sanctions on individuals and companies in Russia, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Obama told reporters in Manila -- where he is finishing up an eight-day tour of East Asia -- that the goal is "not to go after Mr. Putin personally" but to "change his calculus" in Ukraine and will go after "some areas of high-tech defense exports."
However, he mentioned that if Russia remains active in Ukraine, further sanctions could be set on business sectors including the banking and defense industries.
An official list of people and companies who will be sanctioned is expected to be released later on Monday, the Times said.
The president also said the government in Kiev, Ukraine "operated in good faith" though he "not seen comparable efforts by the Russians."
The most recent sanctions are the "next stage in a calibrated effort to change Russia's behavior," Obama said. He also defended the effectiveness of his foreign policy decisions.
He said the criticism is often "directed at the failure to use military force," but questioned why "everybody is so eager to use military force after we've just gone through a decade of war at enormous costs to our troops and to our budget."
"You hit singles, you hit doubles; every once in a while we may be able to hit a home run. But we steadily advance the interests of the American people and our partnership with folks around the world," Obama added.
