By Daphne Psaledakis and Karin Strohecker WASHINGTON/LONDON (Reuters) -The United States pushed Russia closer to the brink of a historic debt default on Wednesday by not extending its license to pay bondholders, as Washington ramps up pressure following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The U.S. Treasury Department late on Tuesday it would let lapse a license which expired at 12:01 a.m. ET (0401 GMT) on Wednesday and allowed Russia to make interest and maturity payments on its sovereign debt to U.S. persons. That waiver has allowed Russia to keep up government debt payments, but its expiry now app…