U.S. announces 500 new sanctions targeting Russia over Navalny death, Ukraine war

The United States and the European Union are piling new sanctions on Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and in retaliation for the death of noted Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny last week in an Arctic penal colony.

In all, 106 more officials and 88 “entities” — often companies, banks, government agencies or other organizations — have been added to the European bloc’s sanctions list, bringing the tally of those targeted to more than 2,000 people and entities, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates.

The U.S. Treasury Department plans Friday to impose more than 500 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine in the largest single tranche of penalties since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the White House said in a release.

“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.”

WATCH l Biden calls Putin a ‘crazy SOB,’ U.S. preps major sanctions package:

U.S. vows to deliver new sanctions against Russia

Ahead of the two-year anniversary of Russia’s Ukraine invasion, the U.S. is set to impose additional sanctions against Russia following the death of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The sanctions are anticipated to cover many elements including the country’s sources of revenue for the Russian economy.

The U.S. specifically was to target individuals associated with Navalny’s imprisonment, as the sanctions come a day after Biden met with the opposition leader’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, and the couple’s daughter in California. It was also hitting “Russia’s financial sector, defence industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents,” Biden said. 

Many of the new U.S. sanctions announced Friday target Russian firms that contribute to the Kremlin’s war effort — including drone and industrial chemical manufacturers and machine tool importers — as well as financial institutions, such as the state-owned operator of Russia’s Mir National Payment System.

In addition, 26 third-country people and firms from across China, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Liechtenstein are listed for sanctions for assisting Russia in evading existing financial penalties.

Sanction, seizure effects not immediate

The Justice Department said separately on Thursday that over the past two years it has secured court orders for the restraint, seizure and forfeiture of nearly $700 million in assets and has charged more than 70 people with violating sanctions and export controls.

The U.S. has been able to transfer more than $5 million of seized Russian assets to Europe in support of Ukraine’s defence, officials said Thursday. But the process of justifying each confiscation of alleged illicit assets in court is a painstaking one by law, playing out over years.

A $60-US-per-barrel price cap has also been imposed on Russian oil by G7 allies including Canada, which is intended to reduce Russia’s revenues from fossil fuels. Critics of the sanctions, price cap and other measures meant to stop Russia’s invasion say they are not working fast enough.

Putin has worked with Iran and others to blunt the impact of the international sanctions, and the International Monetary Fund reports Russia’s economy growing at an unexpectedly healthy pace.

U.S. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo, in previewing the new sanctions, told reporters that the U.S. and its allies will not lower the price cap, but instead be “taking actions that will increase the cost” of Russia’s production of oil. He also said that “sanctions alone are not enough to carry Ukraine to victory.”

EU targets foreign companies

The EU asset freezes and travel bans on Friday constitute the 13th package of measures imposed by the 27-nation bloc against people and organizations it suspects of undermining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Those sanctions included several targeting foreign companies over allegations that they have exported dual-use goods to Russia that could be used in its war against Ukraine. 

“We remain united in our determination to dent Russia’s war machine and help Ukraine win its legitimate fight for self-defence,” said EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Companies making electronic components, which the EU believes could have military as well as civilian uses, were among 27 entities accused of “directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex in its war of aggression against Ukraine,” a statement said.

Those companies — some of them based in India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey — face tougher export restrictions. The names of the companies will only be made public once they are published in the EU’s official journal, which should be a matter of days.

The Russian foreign ministry said the EU sanctions are “illegal” and undermine “the international legal prerogatives of the UN Security Council.” In response, the ministry is banning some EU citizens from entering the country because they have provided military assistance to Ukraine. It did not immediately address the U.S. sanctions.