Washington, March 6 (RHC)-- U.S. President Barack Obama has signed an executive order imposing a ban on visas and property of a number of individuals who the United States believes are violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The order targets the Russian and Ukrainian officials or entities who are "responsible for or complicit in threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,” according to statement posted on the web site of the White House on Thursday.

The statement said that the order also prepares the legal ground for more sanctions on anyone who is misappropriating Ukraine’s state assets, or has asserted authority over parts of the country without approval from the new government in Kiev.

The measures come after the local administration of Ukraine’s strategic Crimea region called for a referendum in order to decide whether or not the autonomous region should join Russia.