The United States has started started limited, targeted sanctions against the Ukrainian authorities as it announced today that it had revoked the visas of top Ukrainian officials implicated in ordering police violence against protesters in November and December. The announcement came after the gunshot deaths this morning of two protesters after a police assault on the demonstrators’ barricades. A third protester died of other injuries.

Because of U.S. confidentiality laws, the names of the officials who had the visas revoked were not released publicly. The fact that the sanctions were introduced before today’s three deaths suggest that further sanctions will be forthcoming from the West, including the United States and possibly the European Union.