Putin urges rich to pay taxes,

Russian billionaires have a new order from Russian President Vladimir Putin: Pay your taxes.

With a wave of Western sanctions over the annexation of Crimea about to hit, Putin called on billionaires to pay taxes at home.

The Russian president met Thursday in Moscow with some of Russia’s richest men. Putin said business “ought to register on Russian territory and pay taxes in our motherland.”

President Obama said Thursday that he is levying additional sanctions against 20 high-level Russian officials and associates of Putin and Russia’s Bank Rossiya.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday that Russia will face escalating European Union sanctions if it does not take steps to ease the crisis over Crimea.

Russia followed suit and announced it was imposing its own entry bans on nine White House aides and members of Congress.

Under the new sanctions announced by the White House, any assets that the individuals have in U.S. jurisdiction have been frozen and Americans are prohibited from doing business with them.

The Ukrainian government says it plans to withdraw its troops from Crimea, where Russia has been taking control as its forces continue to seize military installations.