U.S. imposes over 500 new sanctions on Russia

The Biden administration announced Friday it will hit Russia with hundreds of new sanctions after the death of dissident Alexei Navalny, but experts say they appear unlikely to curb the billions of dollars in energy revenue that have financed President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

The United States will impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russian companies, individuals and firms in other countries that supply Russia’s military and industrial production, according to a Treasury Department spokeswoman. Treasury on Friday said it would also sanction Russia’s largest shipping company, while simultaneously granting most of that company’s fleet an exemption to continue to trade without financial penalties. Energy sales are by far the biggest source of revenue for the Kremlin, but Western allies have been wary of shutting off a crucial source of fuel for the global economy, and Friday’s moves appear to do little to alter that.

The West’s sanctions on Russia, though billed as among the toughest ever, have failed to deter Putin from carrying out the war in Ukraine, and the announcement may raise questions about why the United States had not previously targeted the firms.

Despite the predictions of some analysts, Russia’s economy grew by more than 3% last year — faster than the United States — as Moscow spent extensively to support the war effort. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters the United States will not seek to lower the price at which Russians can sell oil, under the existing Western “price cap” that requires purchasers to buy Russian oil at a discounted rate or face severe financial penalties.