Germany made the first big move, taking steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia — a lucrative deal long sought by Moscow, but criticized by the U.S. for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy supplies.

The rest of the European Union also put some of its cards on the table saying its sanctions would center on several Russian officials, banks financing the Russian armed forces and include a move to limit Moscow’s access to EU capital and financial markets…

“No lows too low, no lies too blatant, no red lines too red to cross,” Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said in summing up the political disgust felt from Europe to North America and democracies hugging Russia’s borders in Asia like Japan and South Korea…

NATO-member Turkey, which has close relations to both Ukraine and Russia, criticized Moscow’s decision to recognize the independence of the regions in eastern Ukraine.

“We consider this decision by Russia as being unacceptable,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. “We reiterate our calls to the parties to respect common sense and international law.”