Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen reiterated the Biden administration's intentions to "impose extreme penalties" on Russian President Vladimir Putin and his rich supporters in a speech Wednesday.

Yellen spoke on the College of Illinois Chicago's Innovation Heart the day after President Joe Biden's State of the Union handle and acknowledged that the Treasury Division has made it a precedence to "go after oligarchs or Russian elites who're key to President Putin's corrupt energy."

"We have now sanctioned many of those people and we're working with Justice Division colleagues and our worldwide allies to uncover, freeze and seize their wealth all over the world," she added.

As Russia continues to invade Ukraine, firing on its cities and killing at the very least 142 civilians, based on Newsweek's stay updates on the scenario, the U.S. and different western nations have responded with a collection of sanctions. The latest sanctions, introduced earlier Wednesday, focused each Russia and Belarus for "enabling" Russia's actions.

Janet Yellen, Treasury Secretary
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen mentioned the Biden administration intends to go after Russian oligarchs after the invasion of Ukraine. Above, Yellen speaks throughout a Youngster Tax Credit score/Earned Earnings Tax Credit score Day of Motion occasion on the South Court docket Auditorium at Eisenhower Govt Workplace Constructing on February 8, 2022, in Washington, D.C.Picture by Alex Wong/Getty Pictures

The U.S. Division of Justice (DOJ) additionally introduced Wednesday that it will put collectively a job pressure to implement the sanctions. Lawyer Normal Merrick Garland mentioned the division "will use all of its authorities to grab the belongings of people and entities who violate these sanctions."

In her speech, Yellen mentioned that 80 p.c of Russia's banking belongings are below restrictions from the Treasury Division and that half of the belongings in Russia's central financial institution have been immobilized, including that Russia is "more and more on an financial island."

"The Treasury Division and finance ministries all over the world collectively have remoted the Russian economic system and made it tougher to finance Putin's conflict of selection," Yellen mentioned.

Following her speech, Yellen instructed reporters that the Treasury Division would additionally regulate the sanctions' results and regulate them ought to any of the sanctioned people or organizations discover workarounds.

Russian International Minister Sergei Lavrov mentioned final week that the sanctions on him and Putin had been an instance of the west's "absolute impotence" concerning overseas coverage. The Biden administration introduced it was becoming a member of the European Union and the UK in sanctioning the 2 on Friday.

"As President Biden conveyed in final night time's State of the Union Deal with, American financial policymaking is a strong device in service of democracy," Yellen mentioned. "In current days, we have used it to weaken Russia. I am pleased with the position the Treasury Division has performed—and can proceed to play—in these efforts."

Replace 03/02/22, 6:40 p.m. ET: This story was up to date so as to add extra data.