The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions against 10 Russian naval structures, Voice of America reports, citing the US State Department..

The sanctions came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with President Joe Biden in Washington..

“In response to Russian naval operations (causing damage) to Ukrainian ports, including those supplying much-needed food and grain to the world, the United States is today imposing sanctions on Russian naval structures,” Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in a statement..

Recall that since October, Moscow has been inflicting massive missile and unmanned strikes on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine..

Ukraine said its Black Sea port of Odessa was closed for a day earlier this month, and the ports of Chornomorsk and Yuzhny were only partially operational following a Russian attack on the region's power grid..

All three of these ports export grain in accordance with the "

The six entities targeted by the sanctions operate or have operated in the maritime and defense sector. Four more organizations were included in the list for their activities in the maritime sector of the Russian economy.

“The United States remains determined to use all necessary measures to deter Russian attacks on Ukraine, whether by air, land or sea.. These accountability measures underscore a simple message: The Kremlin must end its brutal campaign against Ukraine,” Blinken said..

The U.S. Senate at a meeting on Thursday voted to include in the federal budget bill for 2023 an initiative to seize the assets of Russian businessmen frozen as a result of sanctions for their transfer to Ukraine.