Capitals (Union, Agencies)
Yesterday, the White House announced the imposition of more than 500 new sanctions against Russia, in response to the continuing Ukrainian crisis, in a move that coincides with the European Council’s approval of the 13th package of restrictive measures on Moscow. The White House revealed that the new sanctions will affect the Russian financial sector and the defense industrial base.
Washington indicated that the sanctions provide new restrictions on the exports of more than 100 entities that provide support to the Russian war machine.
A spokeswoman for the US Treasury Department said yesterday that the sanctions package that will be taken by both the Treasury and State Departments remains the largest since the start of the Ukrainian crisis.
In a related context, yesterday, the European Council adopted the 13th package of sanctions and restrictive measures against Moscow, coinciding with the second anniversary of the Ukrainian crisis.
The European Union's foreign policy coordinator, Josep Borrell, announced that “the new package will include those responsible for perpetuating the crisis, and those who greatly support it.”
The Council decided to “impose restrictive measures on 106 additional individuals and 88 entities responsible for actions that undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.”
Since the start of the Ukrainian crisis in February 2022, Washington and its allies have imposed a set of sanctions, targeting Moscow's revenues and its military-industrial complex, and have also worked to set a ceiling on oil prices with the aim of reducing Moscow's revenues from fuel.
In order to reduce Russian revenues while ensuring supplies to the global market, a coalition that includes the Group of Seven major industrialized countries, the European Union, and Australia set a maximum oil price at $60 per barrel of Russian crude.
The Treasury Department explained that the coalition has worked in recent months to tighten the price ceiling compliance system.
The US administration also revealed, yesterday, that it had brought charges against a number of wealthy Russians close to the Kremlin to help stop “the flow of illegal funds that are fueling the crisis.”
The European lists agreed upon yesterday primarily target “the military and defense sectors and individuals associated with them, including those involved in arms supplies to Russia in North Korea, members of the judiciary, and local politicians.”
In total, the EU's restrictive measures in relation to actions that undermine or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence now apply to more than 2,000 individuals and entities.
Those concerned are subject to an asset freeze and European Union citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds available to them. In addition, natural persons are subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through the territory of the European Union.
The Council added 27 new entities to the list of those that directly support the Russian military-industrial complex.
“Some of these entities are located in third countries, namely India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey, which participated in circumventing trade restrictions, and others are Russian entities involved in developing, producing and supplying electronic components to the Russian military and industrial complex.”
The latest decision will also expand the list of restricted items that could contribute to the technological enhancement of the Russian defense and security sector, by adding components for the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles.
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