US, EU pile new sanctions on Russia
WASHINGTON (AP):
THE UNITED States and the European Union ( EU) are piling new sanctions on Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and in retaliation for the death of noted Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny last week in an Arctic penal colony.
The US Treasury, State Department and Commerce Department plan Friday to impose roughly 600 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine in the largest single tranche of penalties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. They come on the heels of a series of new arrests and indictments announced by the Justice Department on Thursday that target Russian businessmen, including the head of Russia’s second-largest bank, and their middlemen in five separate federal cases.
The European Union announced Friday that it is imposing sanctions on several foreign companies over allegations that they have exported dual-use goods to Russia that could be used in its war against Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc also said that it was targetting scores of Russian officials, including “members of the judiciary, local politicians and people responsible for the illegal deportation and military re-education of Ukrainian children”.
President Joe Biden said the sanctions come in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “brutal war of conquest” and to Navalny’s death, at a gathering of US governors at the White House. “We in the United States are going to continue to ensure that Putin pays a price for his aggression abroad and repression at home,” Biden said.
While previous sanctions have increased costs for Russia’s ability to fight in Ukraine, they appear to have done little so far to deter Putin. The Biden administration is levying additional sanctions as House Republicans are blocking billions of dollars in additional aid to Ukraine.
The war is becoming entangled in US election-year politics, with former President Donald Trump voicing skepticism about the benefits of the NATO alliance and saying that he would “encourage” Russia to “do whatever the hell they want” to countries that, in his view, are not pulling their weight in the alliance.
Biden on Friday called on Congress to pass Ukraine aide, which has stalled since House Speaker Mike Johnson blocked votes for packages passed by the Senate for Ukraine and other countries. “Russia is taking Ukraine territory for the first time in many months,” Biden said. “But here in America, the speaker gave the house a two-week vacation. They have to come back and get this done, because failure to support Ukraine in this critical moment will never be forgotten in history.”
Many of the new US sanctions announced Friday target Russian firms that contribute to the Kremlin’s war effort, including drone and industrial chemical manufacturers and machine tool importers, as well as financial institutions, such as the state-owned operator of Russia’s Mir National Payment System.
In response to Navalny’s death, the State Department is designating three Russian officials the US says are connected to his death, including the deputy director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, who was promoted by Putin to the rank of colonel general on Monday, three days after Navalny died.
The sanctions would bar the officials from travelling to the US and block access to US-owned property. It is unclear, however, how many of the sanctioned officials travel to or have assets or family in the West. If they do not, the sanctions may be largely symbolic.
The US also will impose visa restrictions on Russian authorities it says are involved in the kidnapping and confinement of Ukrainian children.
In addition, 26 third-country people and firms from across China, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates, and Liechtenstein are listed for sanctions, for assisting Russia in evading existing financial penalties.
The Russian foreign ministry said the EU sanctions are “illegal” and undermine “the international legal prerogatives of the UN Security Council”. In response, the ministry is banning some EU citizens from entering the country because they have provided military assistance to Ukraine. It did not immediately address the US sanctions.