The U.S. on Friday announced a sweeping new round of sanctions against Russia, one year to the day that its military invaded Ukraine.
The sanctions target Russian firms, banks, manufacturers and individuals. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Russia’s metals and mining sector is among those targeted in one of the “most significant sanctions actions to date.”
The sanctions were taken in coordination with the Group of Seven (G-7) allies, who were set to hold an on-line meeting on Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The new sanctions seek to punish some 250 individuals and businesses, and block the finances of banks, arms dealers and tech companies that are tied to Russian weapons production. They also include punishments against those accused of evading sanctions in other countries.
Among the banks targeted for sanctions Friday were Russia’s largest non-state public bank as well as the Public Joint Stock Company MTS Bank, which had been granted a license to operate in the United Arab Emirates last year.
“Our sanctions have had both short-term and long-term impact, seen acutely in Russia’s struggle to replenish its weapons and in its isolated economy,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a written statement while she attended a G-20 finance ministers’ meeting in India. She added that the sanctions are evidence that the U.S., along with its G-7 partners, “will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
The State and Commerce Departments and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative also issued plans to increase pressure on Russia, including visa restrictions on 1,219 members of the Russian military as well as increased tariffs on Russian products, such as metal, worth roughly $2.8 billion. The Departments also plan to add nearly 90 Russian and third-country companies, including from China, to a list of identified sanctions evaders.
The Commerce Department further issued new export restriction rules on Russia, Belarus—Russia’s closest ally in its war against Ukraine—and Iran, which has been providing drones that Russia has been using to attack Ukrainian cities and power structures.
More than 30 countries making up more than half the world’s economy have already imposed sanctions on the Russian economy in response to its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, making it the most sanctioned nation in the world.
