BRUSSELS, March 9. /TASS/. The EU countries agreed to impose financial sanctions against Belarus, which include disconnecting three large banks from SWIFT, restrictions against the Bank of Russia, bans on supplies of euro cash and restrictions on bank deposits, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

"The European Commission welcomes today's agreement of Member States to adopt further targeted sanctions in view of the situation in Ukraine and in response to Belarus's involvement in the aggression," the statement said.

The sanctions will come into force on Wednesday evening after being published in the Official Journal of the EU.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that in response to a request by the heads of the Donbass republics he had made a decision to carry out a special military operation in order to protect people "who have been suffering from abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans of occupying Ukrainian territories.