The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on more than 250 people and entities it accuses of facilitating Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and trying to circumvent sanctions previously imposed on Moscow.
This is a coordinated effort by the US State Department and the US Treasury to limit “harmful foreign activities of the Government of the Russian Federation”, after last week the leaders of the G7 (the group of seven most industrialized countries of the world plus the European Union) reaffirmed their support for Ukraine .
In a statement, the State Department said it imposed sanctions on more than 100 organizations and people who helped bolster Moscow’s capabilities in the war in Ukraine that began in February 2022 and boosted Russia’s energy production and exports.
In addition, the Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on more than 150 individuals and entities, some based in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, that are associated with the Russian military industry and financial sector.
“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to hold those who fund and support the Russian war machine accountable for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The Treasury Department, for its part, clarified that Russia is using China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, as well as “sophisticated transnational networks” to acquire technology and equipment needed to wage war.
For this reason, the Treasury warned that it will continue to “take steps to identify and disrupt third country people, organizations and networks” that facilitate this process.
As a result of today’s US sanctions, all assets and property of those targeted in the United States are frozen and US citizens and companies are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.
In addition to the countries already mentioned, Washington’s sanctions affected individuals and legal entities in Switzerland, Pakistan, Singapore, Maldives, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia itself.
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a military offensive against Ukraine, causing, according to the UN, the worst refugee crisis in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945), and over the past 21 months, a large number of casualties, not only military, but and civilians, they cannot be counted while the conflict continues.
The invasion, justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for the sake of Russian security, was condemned by much of the international community, which responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia. .