US sanctions hundreds of people and entities who ‘support Russia’s war’ in Ukraine News
The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
US sanctions hundreds of people and entities who ‘support Russia’s war’ in Ukraine

The US Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the State Department, announced sanctions on over 200 individuals and entities on Tuesday to target Russia’s war capabilities in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The sanctions target Russia’s energy production, metals and mining sector, munitions transfers and defense industry. The sanctions include entities in China, Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates who are “third-country actors who materially support Russia’s war.” The sanctions also include a Switzerland-based electronics exporter, a Singapore-based electronics supplier and Russia’s military-industrial base and financial institutions. The third-country sanctions are meant to combat sanction evasion by Russia.

The sanctions come on the heels of a G7 meeting, where the leaders discussed current world conflicts. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended the virtual meeting. In a statement released from the meeting, the leaders stated:

Our commitment remains to restrict exports of all items critical to Russia’s military and industrial base, including those used on the battlefield and we call on third parties to take equivalent action. We repeat our call for third parties to immediately cease providing material support to Russia’s aggression, or face severe cost. We will work to further curtail Russia’s use of the international financial system to further its war in Ukraine… We will step up our efforts against evasion and circumvention of our sanctions and export controls measures.

In response to the sanctions, Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen stated:

The Kremlin has steadily turned Russia into a wartime economy, but Putin’s war machine cannot survive on domestic production alone. Our sanctions today continue to tighten the vise on willing third-country suppliers and networks providing Russia the inputs it desperately needs to ramp up and sustain its military-industrial base.

Additionally, in response to the sanctions, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated:

The United States and its allies and partners are united in our continued support of Ukraine in the face of Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal war.  We will continue to use the tools at our disposal to promote accountability for Russia’s crimes in Ukraine and those who finance and support Russia’s war machine.

In addition to sanctions surrounding the war in Ukraine, the US and UK also introduced new sanctions against Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and individuals linked to both groups on Wednesday. Additionally, last week, the UK, the US and Canada announced coordinated sanctions against individuals and entities linked to human rights abuses, approaching the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

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