Hokul announced her readiness to accept Ukrainian refugees in the state of New York

On February 27, New York Governor Kathy Hokul signed an executive order barring the state from doing business with Russia. In particular, the decree refers to the abolition of investments, reports The Washington Post.

Governor also said that New York would host Ukrainian refugees in response to the Russian invasion. She noted at a press conference in Albany that her state has the largest population of Ukraine in the United States.

“We said that we would open our hearts, our homes, our resources to the people of Ukraine to say, ‘We are with you,’” Hokul said.

Federal estimates show that about 140 of the more than 000 million people in the US who report Ukrainian ancestry live in New York.

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Hokul did not immediately go into details regarding her state's economic sanctions against Moscow. Including how much the state has invested in Russian companies — but she noted that New York's economy is larger than Russia's.

The governor's order means that the state "will not allow its own investment activities, directly or indirectly, to assist of Russiawhen she commits these human rights violations and atrocities.”

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The New York sanctions follow those issued by President Joe Biden last week against Russia's financial system. Biden said the US would freeze the assets of major Russian banks, impose export controls to meet the country's high-tech needs, and impose sanctions on its business oligarchs.

It was not immediately known how much money the sanctions could “cost”. Hokul said she wants state agencies to review contracts and assets. They need to make sure that taxpayer money is not used to indirectly finance the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hokul ordered state agencies to withdraw money and assets from investments in companies or institutions deemed to be "Russian or pro-Russian." And she forbade the state to do business with such entities.

By executive order, a supporting organization is defined as any institution or company assisting Russia in its war against Ukraine.