Difficult times are beginning for the Russian economy after Putin’s decision to go to war against Ukraine. The first major package of sanctions is in force. And it won’t stop there.
Brussels – The new EU sanctions against Russia are in force. This emerges from legal acts that were published in the EU Official Journal on Saturday night.
The punitive measures enacted for Russia’s attack on Ukraine aim to cause significant damage to the country and its economy. For example, the refinancing options of the state and selected private banks and companies will be restricted. In addition, the EU is issuing export restrictions for strategically important goods, which are intended to affect companies in the transport and energy sectors in particular.
The EU also puts Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on its sanctions list. Possibly in the EU assets of the two politicians can be frozen.
However, it was initially unclear whether Putin and Lavrov actually have any assets in the EU that could be frozen. If not, the measures would only be of a symbolic nature.
US government imposes sanctions on Putin and ministers
After the European Union and Great Britain, the US government is also imposing sanctions on Putin and several of his ministers, as announced. Those affected include Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of the domestic intelligence service FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, and other leading government officials, as the US Treasury Department said.
“It is exceptionally rare for the Treasury to impose sanctions on a head of state. President Putin joins a very small group that includes despots like Kim Jong Un, Alexander Lukashenko and Bashar al-Assad,” the US Treasury Department said, referring to those in power in North Korea, Belarus and Syria. If necessary, the US is ready for further sanctions.
As a result of the sanctions, any possible property of the affected individuals in the US will be frozen. US citizens and companies are largely forbidden to do business with them or to support them financially. If those affected have no assets in the US – which seems likely in the case of Putin and Lavrov – the sanctions are still not just of symbolic importance. They make many international transactions difficult for those affected because Western banks and companies do not want to risk violating US sanctions. The financial sanctions are not associated with an entry ban.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, wrote in the Telegram news channel in the evening that Putin and Lavrov had no accounts in Great Britain or overseas.
Concrete goals of the EU sanctions package
Specifically, the sanctions package provides, for example, for the Russian aviation industry to be cut off from the supply of new aircraft and spare parts and other technology. The Russian railways are also affected because they were involved in the transport of troops towards Ukraine. In the future, Russian oil refineries may no longer be supplied with products that enable them to meet certain EU standards. Companies that manufacture electrical appliances, computers, telecommunications equipment and sensors, for example, are also affected.
In the past few days, EU officials have not wanted to say what kind of loss of income European companies have to expect because of the sanctions. However, they conceded that the total amount should be in the billions.
Swift exclusion not part of the package
Even stricter sanctions, such as Russia’s exclusion from the Swift banking communications network, the listing of the two most important banks and export bans on natural gas, for example, are not part of the package for the time being. The main justification for this is that such measures would also cause considerable damage to the European economy. It trades significantly more with Russia than, for example, the US or British.
Nevertheless, it is considered quite possible that there will soon be another package of sanctions that also contains the measures mentioned. Work on further measures is already underway. dpa
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