[Jimbuna]

A proposed meeting between Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin is "certainly is not in the plans" anymore, the White House's spokesperson has said.

Jen Psaki added that tensions over the planned invasion of Ukraine would have to ease before such a meeting took place.

President Vladimir Putin has said Russia is still open to diplomacy but will put its national security interests first.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has cancelled a meeting with Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, which had been planned for Thursday in Geneva.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Russian troops sent into Luhansk and Donetsk "are not peacekeepers at all".

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the UK was sanctioning five Russian banks and three oligarchs, freezing their UK assets and banning travel to Britain.

The EU issued sanctions aimed at 351 Russian politicians who voted to recognise the breakaway regions.

Australia, Canada, Japan, and Germany were also among the countries to announce sanctions on Russia.

Also on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia, affecting Russian banks, oligarchs, and the country's sovereign debt.

He told reporters that Russian troops being ordered to eastern Ukraine after Mr Putin recognised the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk marked the "beginning of an invasion".