United States – The United States and the European Union are imposing fresh sanctions on Russia as the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine dawns and in response to the death last week of prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in an arctic penal colony.
U.S. Imposes Comprehensive Sanctions
The US Treasury, State Department, and Commerce Department will on Friday slap around 600 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine in the most significant single batch of penalties since Russia’s first-time invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. They are the latest in a series of new arrests and indictments announced by the Justice Department on Thursday that aimed to capture some Russian businessmen, the head of Russia’s second-largest bank, and their middlemen in five separate federal cases, as reported by The Associated Press.
The European Union waited until Friday afternoon that it was imposing sanctions on several foreign companies that were exporting dual-use products to Russia and could be used in its war against Ukraine. The EU bloc resolved scores of officials, including “members of the judiciary, local politicians, and people responsible for the illegal deportation and military re-education of Ukrainian children.”
Challenges in Discouraging Putin’s Aggression
“The American people and people around the world understand that the stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine,” President Joe Biden said in a statement announcing the sanctions. “If Putin does not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going. And the costs to the United States — along with our NATO Allies and partners in Europe and around the world — will rise.”
Earlier sanctions have increased the cost of Russia’s ability to fight in Ukraine and so far have not managed to discourage Putin from his aggression and ambitions. The Biden administration is imposing additional sanctions while the House Republicans are blocking billions of dollars to Ukraine’s extra support.
The war is involved in the US election year politics, with former president Donald Trump exhibiting disbelief over the benefits of the NATO alliance and saying that he would “encourage” Russia “do whatever the hell they want” to countries that, in his view, are not “pulling their weight” in the alliance.
The new US sanctions announced on Friday are largely targeted at Russian firms that lend a hand to the Kremlin’s war effort — including drone and chemical manufacturers and machine tool importers, as well as financial institutions, such as the state-owned operator of the Mir National Payment System.
The State Department has responded to Navalny’s death by designating three Russian officials whom the US alleges are linked to his death as sanctions. It will also restrict visas to Russian authorities suspected to be involved in the abduction and confinement of Ukrainian children.
Furthermore, 26 third-country people and businesses from different places in China, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates, as well as Liechtenstein are included in the sanction list because they help Russia avoid already existing financial penalties.
The Russian foreign ministry called the EU sanctions “illegal” and against “the international legal prerogatives of the UN Security Council” and is banning some EU citizens from Russia because they have been helping Ukraine with armed forces. It did not immediately solve the US sanctions issue.
Particularly, the United States was to target anyone connected to Navalny’s detention, which occurred one day after Biden visited with the opposition leader’s widow and daughter in California. Additionally, according to Biden, it was targeting “Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks, and sanctions evaders across multiple continents.” “They’ll make sure Putin faces even greater consequences for his domestic repression and foreign aggression.”
Travel bans and freezing assets are part of the 13th package, which is the toughest sanctions imposed by the EU on individuals and organizations that the bloc suspects of meddling with Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“Today, we are further tightening the restrictive measures against Russia’s military and defense sector,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
He further added, “We remain united in our determination to dent Russia’s war machine and help Ukraine win its legitimate fight for self-defense.”
EU’s Toughened Measures
The number of Russian government officials and companies, banks, government agencies, or other organizations brought under the bloc’s sanctions has increased to 106 and 88, correspondingly raising the total number of those targeted to more than 2,000 people and entities, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates, as reported by The Associated Press.
The entities producing electronic components, which the EU believes can have a dual purpose, both military and civilian, were among 27 entities targeted for “directly supporting Russia’s military in the war and industrial complex in its war of aggression,” a statement said.
Some of these firms are based in such countries as India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Turkey and are thereby affected by new trade embargo restriction measures.
The bloc charges some companies with “the development, production, and supply of electronic components” meant to support Russia’s armed forces and claims that the companies “have been involved in the circumvention of trade restrictions.”
Several of the measures have Russia props and parts for the drones without pilots in sight as war keys by military experts.
Ever since the beginning of the war, US Treasury and State departments have designated over 4000 officials, oligarchs, and others involved in Russia-related sanctions authorities. In addition, Group of Seven allies have fixed a $60 price cap on barrel oil in Russia, which is intended to weaken Russia’s fossil-fuel revenues.
Skeptics say that the sanctions, the price cap, and other measures made to stop Russia’s invasion are not effective enough, as reported by The Associated Press.
Comprehensive Strategy
According to Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, sanctions against Russia’s defense sector alone will not be sufficient to end the conflict, nor will they be sufficient to significantly reduce Russia’s energy income.
“One way or another, they will have to eventually address Russia’s oil revenues and have to consider an oil embargo,” Snegovaya said. “The oil price cap has effectively stopped working.”
Support for Ukraine
When introducing the new sanctions, Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo informed reporters that the United States and its partners would not be lowering the price cap but would instead be “taking actions that will increase the cost” of Russia’s oil production.
He added that “sanctions alone are not enough to carry Ukraine to victory.”
“We owe the Ukrainian people who have held on for so long the support and resources they desperately need to defend their homeland and prove Putin wrong once and for all time.”