US unveils new sanctions against Russia in response to annexation in Ukraine
On Friday morning, the Biden administration announced a wave of new sanctions against a number of individuals and entities including the head of Russia's central bank, following Vladimir Putin’s move to annex four areas of Ukraine.
The White House and Ukraine say the annexations are illegitimate; the Departments of Treasury, Commerce, and State are responding by adding new individuals and companies to the already sprawling sanctions effort being imposed by the US and the West.
“We will not stand by as Putin fraudulently attempts to annex parts of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. "The Treasury Department and US government are taking sweeping action today to further weaken Russia’s already degraded military industrial complex and undermine its ability to wage its illegal war.”
In his own statement Friday, President Joe Biden said Russia was "showing its contempt for peaceful nations everywhere." He added that the US "will always honor Ukraine’s internationally recognized borders."
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, joined Yahoo Finance Live on Friday and noted Putin "is losing on the battlefield." Russia is attempting to annex these regions "while its army is being kicked out of those very regions," he added.
While sanctions have taken some toll on Putin's ability to wage war, he noted, he said it's not realistic to expect sanctions to collapse Russia's economy.
New individuals targeted, including Russia's central bank governor
One arm of the new sanctions will name additional Putin allies individually. The White House has targeted an ever-growing list of Russian officials for economic penalties, recently discussing efforts to punish "facilitators" of Russia’s attempts to evade sanctions all around the world.
Treasury will sanction Elvira Nabiullina, the governor of Russia’s Central Bank. The highly regarded banker has worked to limit the damage to Russia’s economy in recent months even after she reportedly tried to quit soon after the invasion of Russia, only to be told no by Putin.
According to the Treasury Department, Nabiullina is a former adviser to Putin and will now be personally subject to an array of sanctions. Her bank, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, had already been sanctioned.
Olga Skorobogatova, the deputy governor of the bank, and Aleksandr Novak, a Russian Deputy Prime Minister, are also being added to the sanctions list.
Friday’s move will also bring in more Russian leaders and their family members into the orbit, and include Belarusian military officials. Belarus has been a close Putin ally since the beginning of the invasion and provided a staging ground for Russian troops along its border with Ukraine.
Treasury is announcing sanctions against 14 new individuals "in Russia’s military-industrial complex" including two international suppliers and other immediate family members of top Russians. Sanctions are also coming for 109 additional members of Russia’s Duma and 169 members of Russia’s Federation Council, the upper chamber of its parliament.
Friday's action came after Putin held a "signing ceremony" to formally incorporate Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions under Russian control. The annexation has been called a sham by Ukraine and the West.
Britain’s Foreign Office also announced a new series of sanctions this week, but it remains to be seen whether these new measures will be any more effective at deterring Putin's resolve.
New ‘export controls’
The Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security also announced new export control efforts Friday that will apply to entities and individuals both inside and also around the world if they “provide political or economic support to Russia for its purported annexation.”
Administration officials have long touted export controls as a means to cut off Russia from resources such as high-tech semiconductors and the larger “21st century economy” amid questions about how effective the move could actually be given Russia’s alliance with nations like China.
Commerce will add 57 new entities located in Russia and the Crimea region of Ukraine to its list of export control targets. Officials also underlined Friday that export control efforts can also apply to companies in outside countries that provide support to Russia and Belarus.
There are now a total of 392 entities subject to export controls. The administration is "clamping down on entities that are seeking to support Russia’s military effort — inside and outside of Russia — and will continue to coordinate with our allies and partners to continue to cut Russia off further from the technologies and other items it needs to sustain its war effort,” Commerce Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security Alan Estevez said in a statement.
Finally, the U.S. State Department is also imposing new visa restrictions on 910 individuals, including on a Russian soldier named Ochur-Suge Mongush who's accused of war crimes. The new visa restrictions will apply to both members of Russia's military as well as Russia’s proxies according to the state department. Belarusian military officials will be included in the new restrictions as well.
This post has been updated.
Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.
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