President Biden banned imports of Russian oil, gas and coal on Tuesday in response to what he called Putin's "vicious war of choice" in Ukraine.
Defending freedom is going to cost, Mr. Biden said in televised remarks.
The president's move immediately shut off a relatively small flow of oil into the United States, but it was followed by a British pledge to phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year and a declaration from the European Commission.
The impact of the decisions was felt across the global energy market. The national average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the United States increased by 72 cents from a month ago and reached a new high of $4.173, not adjusted for inflation.
If we don't respond to Putin's assault on global peace and stability today, the cost of freedom and to the American people will be even greater tomorrow, Mr. Biden said.
He vowed to do everything he could to minimize Putin's price hike here at home.
Biden acted without the unity among allies that characterized most of the response to Russia's aggression during the past several months.
The moves by Britain and the E.U. did not meet Mr. Biden's ban. The French minister for foreign trade told a radio station on Monday that officials would need to consider consequences. In Italy, which imports more than 40 percent of its energy from Russian gas, the Prime Minister says the country's dependence on Russian gas is a weakness.
A new wave of major corporations across the world began shutting down their operations in Russia on Tuesday, after Mr. Biden spoke about his ban as another powerful blow to Putin's war machine.
Shell, Europe's largest oil company, said it would stop buying Russian crude and shutter its service stations in the country. McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Starbucks and other companies announced that they would temporarily close all of their restaurants in Russia. Amazon stopped allowing customers in Russia to open new accounts.
Officials said that Mr. Biden had wrestled with the issue of whether to cut off Russian oil for days. In an election year, it is a test of how much voters will sacrifice in defense of Ukraine.
The White House expressed deep concerns as a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House tried to finalize legislation to impose a ban on Russian oil, according to officials monitoring the discussions.
The vote on the House bill was delayed late Tuesday.
The president and his aides have discussed a number of ways to counteract the impact of the ban. The United States committed to releasing 30 million barrels of oil, joining 30 other nations for a total release of 60 million barrels.
The administration has held talks with other oil- producing nations about increasing the flow of oil to keep prices stable. The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, on Monday confirmed discussions with Venezuela about energy security and other issues.
Any barrels the United States imports to replace Russian oil will come from a global market that is already stretched. Unless and until Russia finds alternative buyers, the constraint on available supplies is likely to keep prices high.
Consumers in the U.S. are feeling the squeeze. In California, the average price for some types of gas has hovered around $6 in recent days, while the state average was over $5 on Tuesday.
Republicans largely supported Mr. Biden's decision to cut off Russian oil, giving the president a rare moment of bipartisan support. Many Republicans seized on high prices at the pump to criticize him and his party.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, said on Tuesday that Democrats want to blame surging prices on Russia.
In his remarks, Mr. Biden cast the decision as a moral one that was meant to further cripple Mr. Putin's economy.
Mr. Biden said that the Ukrainian people have inspired the world with their bravery, their patriotism, and their determination to live free. Putin's war has caused enormous suffering and needless loss of life of women, children, and everyone in Ukraine.
Putin seems determined to continue on his path, no matter the cost.
Two million refugees have fled the country in the last year, according to humanitarian officials. As the green corridors continued to come under fire, casualties increased.
The suburb of Irpin has been without water, power and heat for days, and about 2,000 people were able to escape. Hundreds of civilians were able to escape from the war-battered city of Sumy in a convoy of buses led by the Red Cross.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are trapped in Mariupol.
The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down three Russian fighter jets and a cruise missile early Tuesday, an assertion that appeared to be backed up by several loud explosions over the city.
President Zelensky showed a video of Mr. Putin in his office and said: "I'm not hiding." Mr. Zelensky spoke by video link to a packed meeting of Britain's Parliament.
White House officials said the president signed an executive order on Tuesday that prohibits anyone in the United States from buying Russian crude oil and other products.
In announcing his decision, Mr. Biden acknowledged that some European countries, including Germany and France, would most likely not follow suit because they rely more on energy from Russia.
Mr. Biden said that he was focused on keeping all of NATO and the E.U. united.
Before heading to Texas for an event about the impact of environmental toxins on veterans, Mr. Biden promised to do what he could to minimize the effect of his decision on gas prices, but he did not specify whether the United States would seek to import oil from other countries already under sanctions.
He warned oil companies in the United States not to raise prices too much.
Russia's aggression is costing us all. Mr. Biden said.
Concerns about disruptions in the flow of oil around the world have pushed up the price ofBrent crude, the global benchmark for oil. On Tuesday, it rose 4 percent, to about $128 a barrel, off its earlier high of $133. Oil prices have gone up since Russia invaded Ukraine.
The stock markets lost ground on Tuesday. The S&P 500 is down by more than 12 percent for the year. The benchmark in Europe was mostly lower.
Mr. Biden said Americans were most likely to feel the economic pain when they filled up their gas tanks.
Though gas costs make up a relatively small part of consumer spending and some analysts expect the extreme prices to be short-lived, the price of gas can have an outsized influence on how Americans perceive the U.S. economy. Before the Russian invasion, inflation was a concern for many.
Republicans have accused the administration of pursuing environmental policies, such as blocking drilling on some public lands, that have made the situation worse. Some Republicans want the president to allow more drilling to replace the oil imported from Russia.
Mr. Biden said that oil companies in the United States had permission to drill in areas that they hadn't yet tapped.
He said they have 9,000 permits to drill. They have 9,000 to drill on land. Let me be clear. They aren't using them for production right now. That is their decision. These are the facts.
The White House is bracing for increased criticism from Republicans as the price of gas and other energy rises over the coming weeks, even though Republicans and Democrats in Congress had pushed for a ban on Russian energy.
The crisis reminds us that we need to become energy independent in order to protect our economy over the long term.
The United States and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia. Initially, the threat of sanctions was meant to deter an invasion.
The steps that failed to prevent the war include freezing the assets of major Russian banks and Mr. Putin's wealthy Russian friends.
Mr. Biden and his counterparts had previously spared energy resources from those sanctions in order to ensure the steady flow of natural gas and oil throughout the world.
"I don't have a message for the American people about the increase in gas prices," Mr. Biden said.
He said they're going to go up.
Mr. Biden said he can't do much right now. Russia is responsible.
Reporting was done by Catie Edmondson from Washington, Julie Creswell from New York, Coral Murphy Marcos from New York, Karen Weise from Seattle, Stephen Castle from London, Mark Landler from Irpin, Ukraine, and Eshe Nelson from London.
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