WASHINGTON, Sept 30 (Reuters) – The United States on Friday imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia over the country’s declared annexation of parts of Ukraine, targeting hundreds of people and companies, including those in Russia’s military-industrial complex and lawmakers.
Washington acted after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday proclaimed the biggest annexation in Europe since World War II, declaring Russian rule over 15% of Ukraine’s territory occupied by Russian forces.
“We will rally the international community both to condemn these moves and to hold Russia accountable. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the equipment it needs to defend itself, undeterred by Russia’s brazen attempts to redraw its neighbors’ borders, ” says US President Joe. Biden said in a statement.
FAMILY MEMBERS
Treasury also named family members of Russia’s National Security Council, such as Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin’s wife and two adult children, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu’s wife and adult children, and National Guard chief Viktor Zolotov’s wife and adult children. See the article : Amid the war in Ukraine, Russia’s Lavrov goes on the diplomatic offensive.
In addition, the immediate family members of the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Federation Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, the President of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko and Saint Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov were hit with sanctions.
The US State Department said in a separate statement that it imposed visa restrictions on more than 900 people, including members of the Russian and Belarusian militaries and “proxies of Russia for violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence,” preventing them from traveling to United States.
The United States singled out a Russian citizen, Ochur-Suge Mongush, for his involvement in what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called “a gross violation of human rights committed against a Ukrainian prisoner of war,” and said Mongush and his immediate family members. cannot enter the United States.
Canada also announced measures on Friday against dozens of oligarchs, financial elites and their family members, plus 35 Russian-backed senior officials in the regions where the referendums took place. The UK also imposed sanctions on the governor of the central bank and introduced new services and goods export bans.
The US hopes Friday’s sanctions will reduce Russia’s military’s ability to threaten Ukraine and “undermine Russia’s major sectors” in technology, industry and defense, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said, “so that the country’s ability to project power, threaten and coerce its neighbors and lead wars of aggression are reduced over time.”
Washington’s goals are largely proportional to Russia’s annexation, said Brian O’Toole, a former Treasury secretary now at the Atlantic Council think tank.
The action against Sinno Electronics serves as a warning to other Chinese companies and those who may do business with Russia, he said.
“I’m impressed with how robust this is given that this was a relatively short turnaround time,” O’Toole said.
Sullivan spoke with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Friday about their “shared concern” over the Russian annexations and the need to protect critical infrastructure after the apparent sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, the US said.
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Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis, Steve Holland, Karen Freifeld, Doina Chiacu and Heather Timmons in Washington and Steve Scherer in Ottawa; Author of Daphne Psaledakis; Editing by Tim Ahmann, Howard Goller, Grant McCool and Marguerita Choy
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