US President Joe Biden has announced the first tranche of sanctions against Russia, which he says extend far beyond the sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014.

He announced measures to block trade involving two major Russian banks.

The US president also reported on measures taken to cut off parts of the Russian economy from international financial systems.

Biden said the measures were "far superior" to previous ones and would deprive the Russian government of Western funding for sovereign debt.

Biden said he was in constant contact with European leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the BBC reported.

Biden added that he had no intention of going to war with Russia, while pledging to defend every inch of NATO territory.