The decision came after the US House of Representatives voted, on Tuesday, on a law that would ban energy imports from Russia, in a new escalation of US sanctions against Moscow after the latter declared war on Ukraine.
The move follows pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to US and Western officials to cut imports, which were a flagrant omission of massive sanctions imposed on Russia over the invasion.
US sources indicated that the decision to ban Russian oil will include coal and liquefied natural gas.
Energy exports have kept a steady flow of cash to Russia despite severe restrictions on its financial sector.
The White House had said that Biden intends to speak on Tuesday morning to announce “measures to continue to hold Russia accountable for its unjustified war that was not caused by a provocation against Ukraine.”
The United States is acting alone in this regard, but in close consultation with European allies who rely more on Russian energy supplies.
Europe relies heavily on Russia for crude oil and natural gas, but has become more open to the idea of banning Russian products.
While the United States depends much less on crude and oil products from Russia, the imposition of a ban will contribute to pushing prices further up and harming American consumers who are already suffering at historically high prices at gas stations.