Biden meets with G7 leaders and president of Ukraine

President Biden is meeting virtually with G7 leaders and President Zelensky to discuss continued efforts to support Ukraine. The US has also announced a new round of sanctions against Russia targeting 250 people and firms. On CBS Morning, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed the importance of allied support on the war effort. We have to sustain our involvement and that's what we're determined to do. But not just us, dozens of countries around the world. Tony, we were here in New York a year and a week ago. We're warning the world about the impending Russian invasion.

Now, a year later, Ukraine is still standing, it's still free, it's still independent. Putin's first objective was to erase it from the map to absorb it into Russia. That has failed and that will fail. The main reason is incredible courage of the Ukrainian people, but also the support that dozens of countries around the world have provided. The Secretary of State also said in a statement the new sanctions will make it harder for Russia to continue the war. CBS News' Chief White House correspondent Nancy Kortes joins us now with more. So, Nancy, talk to us about the significance of the president holding this meeting with key allies on the one-year mark of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Right. And then making sure that pictures of that virtual meeting quickly got disseminated on Twitter and elsewhere to send a message to Russia and to the rest of the world that these economic powerhouses, seven of the largest economic powers in the world, are standing by Ukraine one year later and they are not going to abandon Ukraine. The way the president put it, he said, the global coalition in support of Ukraine is stronger than ever with the G7 as its anchor. And so this is meant to send a signal to Russia not only that they're standing firm, not only that they are giving Ukraine more money, more aid, more weaponry, but also that they are stepping up their punishment of Russia. And it's a financial sector with these sweeping new sanctions. You know, it's hard to imagine that there's anything left to sanction at this point after all the sanctions we've seen already, but the United States, in conjunction with these G7 countries, announced a whole new round of sanctions today on 200 individuals and entities not just in Russia but around the world. Individuals who might have tried to backfill some of these needs of Russia's after other countries had to stop providing Russia with certain goods.

And so, you know, this is yet another sign that the U.S. recognizes that it needs to do more to try to, you know, keep Russia from getting some of this crucial technology that it needs and also that the sanctions that have been imposed so far have not dissuaded Russia at this point from waging this invasion. Well, Nancy, that's exactly what I wanted to ask you about, because to your point, it's surprising that there's anything left to sanction considering the administration has already tried to pinch around the kind of financial strings to the Kremlin. So what impact does the administration really expect from this round of sanctions that it describes as significant action? What's new? Right. Well, first of all, these sanctions hit every sector of the Russian economy, energy companies, mining companies, military, industrial complex, and financial institutions, and on and on. But I think what's really interesting are the individuals and entities outside of Russia that were sanctioned today.

For example, there's a Swiss-Italian businessman who the U.S. says has been providing Russia with some key military technology that it couldn't get after earlier sanctions were imposed. He's now being sanctioned. And so this is a message that's being sent to any individual, any country, any entity that might be considering working with Russia that you will be punished. There was some property here in the United States that was seized and put into forfeiture today. And it's also the hope of the U.

S. government that the tighter that they tighten the screws that the elite within Russia, the people who run all of these companies, the oligarchs, the people who benefit from how much money these Russian companies make, will become even more disenchanted with the war and will start to break more publicly with Vladimir Putin. But they acknowledge it hasn't really happened yet. Vladimir Putin does have a lock on messaging in that country for the most part. But they say that it takes time, in some cases, for these sanctions to work, and they're going to stay the course. All right. Nancy Court is at the White House for us.

Nancy, thank you. You're welcome.

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