Senate panel advances tough sanctions on Russia

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Senate panel on Wednesday advanced what could become some of the most significant U.S. sanctions on Russia since the end of the Cold War in a bid to pressure President Vladimir Putin to pull Russian troops out of Crimea.

By a 14-3 vote, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a bill authorizing $1 billion in loan guarantees to Ukraine’s new government and allowing the Obama administration to impose economic penalties on Russian officials responsible for the military intervention or culpable of gross corruption.