Sanctions

US, EU, and UK are among those imposing sanctions on Russia after its attack on Ukraine.

Because the world needs a free and sovereign Ukraine.pic.twitter.com/ijbAAb8G67 Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also said there will be a full asset freeze on Russian lenders within days. “The world is speaking and sending a very clear message to Russia that what they have done is wrong and they will face the condemnation of the world,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said. Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday said the new sanctions will be placed against “oligarchs whose economic weight is of strategic significance to Moscow”, and more than 300 members of the Russian parliament who voted to authorise sending Russian troops into Ukraine. Canada announced more sanctions against Russia on Friday targeting 62 individuals and entities, including members of the elite and major banks, and cancelled all export permits. Only history would tell if such a move could happen again, he said. Britain will also ban Russia’s flagship airline Aeroflot from landing in the UK, suspend dual export licences to Russia, and ban exports of some high-tech exports and parts of the extractive industry. In the 10-point sanctions package released on Friday, the British government said it would impose an asset freeze on major Russian banks, including state-owned VTB, its second-biggest bank, and stop major Russian companies from raising finance in the UK. The UK said on Monday it will lock Russia’s Sberbank out of the sterling clearing and slap sanctions on three other banks. The Korean government also decided to promote the additional release of strategic oil reserves for stabilisation of the international energy market and to further review other measures such as the resale of LNG to Europe, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The 27-country EU on Wednesday also imposed several packages of sanctions on Russia, including a ban on the export of specific refining technologies to Russia from Europe. Switzerland will adopt all the sanctions that the European Union imposed on Russian people and companies and freeze their assets, the government said in a sharp deviation from the country’s traditional neutrality.

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks about Russia's "unprovoked and unjustified" military invasion of Ukraine on Thursday. Updated February 24, 2022 at 3:19 PM ET. President Biden issued a new round of economic sanctions Thursday meant ...

Biden has warned that these were the first "tranche" of sanctions and that the administration would ratchet up the response based on Russia's next steps. Biden said NATO will convene a summit on Friday and that "we'll be there to bring together the leaders of 30 allied nations and close partners to affirm our solidarity." "The vast majority of those transactions will now be disrupted," according to the statement. "The U.S. stands up to bullies," Biden said. The Treasury Department said in a statement that on a daily basis, Russian financial institutions conduct about $46 billion worth of foreign exchange transactions globally, 80% of which are in U.S. dollars. Biden said he spoke Wednesday night with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and promised him the U.S. would provide humanitarian aid. There were also sanctions against the Russian-owned company building the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine.— President Biden (@POTUS) pic.twitter.com/dzvYxj7J9w February 24, 2022 In addition, 49 Russian military end users were added to a control list. Instead, he said, it would take time to have the intended impact: weakening Russia's economy. The administration announced the U.S. will block Sberbank — the largest Russian bank — from accessing the U.S. financial system. But, he said, "this aggression cannot go unanswered."

President Biden on Thursday announced an unprecedented package of sanctions and export controls coordinated with European and Asian allies to punish Russia ...

The weapons: Ukraine is making use of weapons such as Javelin antitank missiles and Switchblade “kamikaze” drones, provided by the United States and other allies. “The sanctions we’ve imposed exceed SWIFT,” Biden said. “That shows an extraordinary amount of work and coordination with the allies.” The semiconductor industry, which could have lobbied hard against the export controls, issued a statement Thursday saying it is “fully committed” to complying with the new rules. The Biden administration identified a number of people considered Russian elites and their family members who are being targeted by the latest sanctions. So, he said, despite some hit to their bottom line, “it should be manageable by most.” Washington is also penalizing Russia’s second-largest bank, VTB, not only freezing its assets but cutting it off from all transactions with U.S. companies, individuals and other entities. Significantly, Canada, Australia, Japan, Britain and the European Union adapted their existing export controls to be consistent with the new U.S. rule. The sanctions target not only Russia’s largest state-owned banks but also a number of Russian political and business elites. Included on the list of targets is Gazprom, Russia’s biggest gas company, which for the first time will be barred from raising capital in Western markets. Penalizing Gazprom, he said, “is the administration taking a swipe at [Russian] energy.” And now, he and his country will bear the consequences.”

The United States government, in partnership with allies and partners, issued new and expanded sanctions and trade controls in response to Russia's…

- Imposes comprehensive restrictions for the “so-called” Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) regions. OFAC expanded Russia-related debt and equity restrictions to additional key aspects of Russia’s economy. The U.S. Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed expansive economic sanctions that target the core infrastructure of the Russian financial system in attempt to isolate Russia from the global financial system. - Impose new license requirements for Russia for all Export Control Classification Numbers (ECCNs) in Categories 3-9 of the CCL (§746.8(a)(1)). Certain of these items were not previously controlled to Russia and include microelectronics, computers, telecommunications items, information security products, sensors, navigation equipment, avionics, marine equipment and aircraft components. Sberbank and 25 Sberbank foreign financial institution subsidiaries that are 50% or more owned, directly or indirectly, by Sberbank were identified. - Credit Bank of Moscow Public Joint Stock Company is Russia’s largest non-state public bank and Russia’s sixth-largest financial institution. Restriction includes all items subject to the EAR, other than food and medicine designated as EAR99 and certain software for Internet-based personal communications. - Public Joint Stock Company RusHydro is a hydroelectricity company and one of Russia’s largest power companies. These items, many of which were not previously subject to controls when destined for Russia, include semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, sensors, maritime and aviation items. All other restrictions under these rules, including U.S. origin exports, are effective immediately. These measures, which target nearly 80% of all banking assets in Russia and specified Russian industry sectors, are effective February 24, 2022. - VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company (VTB Bank) – In addition, 20 VTB Bank subsidiaries were designated pursuant to E.O. 14024 for being owned or controlled by, directly or indirectly, VTB Bank.

President Biden announced more sanctions on Russia's military and economy over its invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions have become a favored tool in presidents' ...

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US President Joe Biden unleashed sweeping sanctions Thursday responding to Russian President Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine that target Moscow's banking ...

A central pillar of the effort, however, went beyond asset freezes and financial sanctions to blocking entirely key technologies from entering Russia. It was constructed to restrict access to the technology required to sustain Russia's defense, aerospace and maritime sectors. The US view of the necessity of keeping European allies on board, combined with a desire to mitigate domestic economic pain, drove the calculated decision not to directly target Russia's economic driver -- its energy sector, where EU countries were likely to oppose harsh sanctions. It also provides a singular window into an expansive diplomatic effort over the course of the last several months, where US officials strained to keep Western countries aligned amid divergent equities, domestic political considerations and even bilateral relations with Putin himself. The sanctions that the Biden administration imposed Thursday on Russia's first and second largest lenders, Sberbank and VTB Bank, were separate actions designed to severely restrict operations and reshape their overall business. "This is going to take time," Biden said. "As we seek to impose maximum costs on Putin, there is more that we can and should do," the New Jersey Democrat said. Sanctioning Putin directly is unlikely to have a tangible effect on his finances, which remain as shielded as they are immense. It also expanded the US strategy of targeting the adult children of key players and businessmen in Putin's inner circle. "This is an unprecedented situation, and even though we don't generally sanction heads of state, on occasion we do, and I think it's merited here." The US levied penalties across industries, from asset freezes for the largest banks to debt and equity restrictions on critical mining, transportation and logistics firms. It was, after all, not a move the US can make unilaterally, officials said. "We demand the disconnection of Russia from SWIFT," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted