US President Barack Obama has announced further sanctions on Russian officials and a bank over the crisis in Crimea.
Mr Obama also said he had signed an order enabling the US to impose sanctions on sectors of the Russian economy.Meanwhile EU leaders have arrived in Brussels amid warnings that they may impose tougher economic sanctions.
Tensions are high as Moscow approves a treaty enabling Crimea - an autonomous republic in Ukraine - to join Russia.
Mr Obama said: "Russia must know that further escalation will only isolate it further from the international community."
Allies of the Russian president targeted by US sanctions include railways boss Vladimir Yakunin (left)
Russian authorities announced sanctions on US lawmakers and officials in response.
In a separate development in Crimea, Russian-allied troops appeared to have seized at least two Ukrainian navy ships at anchor in the port of Sevastopol.
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Vladimir Yakunin - Chair of Russian Railways, and also a close confidant of Mr Putin
Gennady Timchenko - A founder of Gunvor, a commodity trading company linked to Mr Putin
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg - Brothers who have made billions in government contracts during Mr Putin's years in power
Bank Rossiya - the personal bank for senior Russian officials
Source: US Treasury
Inner circle
Targets of US sanctions
Sergei Ivanov - Vladimir Putin's chief of staffVladimir Yakunin - Chair of Russian Railways, and also a close confidant of Mr Putin
Gennady Timchenko - A founder of Gunvor, a commodity trading company linked to Mr Putin
Arkady and Boris Rotenberg - Brothers who have made billions in government contracts during Mr Putin's years in power
Bank Rossiya - the personal bank for senior Russian officials
Source: US Treasury
A White House official said the latest wave of US sanctions targeted 20 Russian individuals with interests in the Crimea.
The Russian bank being targeted - for supporting government officials - is Bank Rossiya, the US Treasury said.Among the 20 individuals facing sanctions are members of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle.
They include his chief of staff Sergei Ivanov and wealthy businessmen Arkady Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko.
Those targeted will be unable to make transactions in dollars, will have any assets in the US frozen and will be barred from doing business in the US.
The Ukrainian corvette Khmelnitsky was among those seized by pro-Russian forces on Thursday
The Khmelnitsky is anchored in the Crimean port of Sevastopol
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told the German parliament that the EU would be ready to impose economic sanctions against Russia if there were a further escalation in Russia's involvement in Ukraine.
EU leaders including Angela Merkel (centre) are in Brussels for talks on the Ukraine crisis
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There will certainly be more sanctions in place after this
summit, but no one expects a "big bang" moment that leads to Europe
cutting off Russia economically.
Some more names will be added to the list of individuals subject to an asset freeze and EU travel ban. They form what the EU calls "Phase 2" sanctions against Russia. "Phase 3" sanctions will be threatened - but not put in place yet.
"Phase 3" is a much bigger deal - economic and trade sanctions.
Finally look for signs that EU leaders are serious about shifting Europe's energy policy in the coming years to reduce their reliance on Russia gas.
They spoke of doing so after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 but never followed through. Will they this time?
Analysis
Some more names will be added to the list of individuals subject to an asset freeze and EU travel ban. They form what the EU calls "Phase 2" sanctions against Russia. "Phase 3" sanctions will be threatened - but not put in place yet.
"Phase 3" is a much bigger deal - economic and trade sanctions.
Finally look for signs that EU leaders are serious about shifting Europe's energy policy in the coming years to reduce their reliance on Russia gas.
They spoke of doing so after the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 but never followed through. Will they this time?
The EU and US introduced a first
raft of sanctions against individual Russians and Ukrainians on Monday, a
day after 97% of Crimeans voted in a referendum to join Russia.
The US ordered the freezing of assets and travel bans on 11 individuals, while the EU imposed the same sanctions on 21 people.Congressmen targeted Russia has announced that it is imposing its own sanctions against US officials and politicians.
Among those targeted are some of the most senior Congressmen - Harry Reid, John Boehner and John McCain - as well as one of President Obama's national security advisers, Benjamin Rhodes.
Mr Boehner's spokesman said he was "proud to be included on a list of those willing to stand against Putin's aggression".
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking before Mr Obama's announcement, described possible sanctions as "illegitimate" and "not based on international law".
Mr Lavrov was addressing the lower house of Russia's parliament ahead of a vote to formally annex Crimea - a move he said was necessary to protect the peninsula's majority ethnic Russian population from "nationalists, anti-Semites and other extremists on whom the new [Ukrainian] authorities depend".
The referendum has been described as illegal by Kiev and the West.
Speaking after talks in Moscow with President Putin, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged all sides to refrain from hasty or provocative actions.
Mr Ban said he was "deeply concerned about the current situation".
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