This Wednesday, Russia vowed to respond to the latest sanctions imposed by the United States (US) to stop Moscow’s ability to wage war on Ukraine and put pressure on financial institutions that deal with the Russian economy.
“Russia, as always in such cases, will not leave the US’s aggressive actions unanswered,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, as quoted by the state news agency TASS.
A new wave of US sanctions was announced on the eve of the G7 summit, a group that unites the seven richest democracies in the world (Germany, Canada, the USA, France, Italy, Japan and the UK, plus the European Union).
“The measures announced today target the remaining supply chains through which (Russia) acquires materials and equipment internationally, including its dependence on critical supplies from third countries,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.
Announcing the new sanctions measures, Yellen emphasized that the United States is “increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with the Russian military economy.”
“We are eliminating opportunities for tax evasion and reducing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software and IT services,” the official quoted in the statement added.
The measures of the US Treasury and State Department affect more than 300 organizations located in Russia and in countries such as China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
Washington’s decision targets the Moscow Exchange and several of its affiliates in an effort to block billions of dollars in transactions, as well as entities involved in three liquefied natural gas projects.
At the same time, the Treasury Department is expanding its definition of Russia’s “military-industrial” complex, with foreign banks potentially facing sanctions for supporting the Russian defense industry.
Expanding the scope of the so-called “secondary sanctions regime” opens up the possibility of foreign financial institutions becoming sanctioned if they carry out transactions involving any sanctioned entity or sanctioned Russian banks, such as VTB or Sberbank, thereby increasing the target list from over 1000 to approximately 4500.
The announcement came ahead of the G7 summit in Italy, which runs until Friday, during which US President Joe Biden intends to show his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that “time is not on his side,” a White House spokesman said. representative.
Ukraine has relied on financial and military aid from Western allies since Russia invaded the country on February 24, 2022.
Kyiv’s allies have also imposed sanctions on key sectors of the Russian economy in an attempt to reduce Moscow’s ability to finance military action in Ukraine.
PL // SKA
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