US announces sweeping new sanctions against Russia

New American sanctions against Russia will hit Moscow in all sectors and aim to deprive the Russians of support in the war in Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced on Friday March 19. “The measures taken today will limit the capacity of the [président russe Vladimir] Putin to continue his barbaric invasion (…) and circumvent the sanctions” already in place, she said, alongside the G7 summit in Japan.

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In concrete terms, the United States places “more than 300” people, companies, ships and planes, across Europe, the Middle East and Asia, on their blacklist. They ban US exports to 70 entities in Russia and other countries.

Freeze of assets

Westerners have piled unprecedented sanctions on Russia since invading Ukraine in February 2022, to strangle him economically, in particular by drying up its revenues from hydrocarbons, and disorganizing its defense industry. Washington also promises to weigh on the Russian financial sector as well as on Russia’s ability to produce energy in the medium and long term.

The new measures include restrictions on exports of essential battlefield goods for Russia, such as components used in the manufacture of Russian Orlan reconnaissance drones. They also target networks in India, Finland, Estonia, Liechtenstein and the Netherlands.

In the energy sector, the United States hits 18 entities, including in shipbuilding and energy research and exploration in the Russian Arctic. Washington also takes it “to the increasingly close ties between Russia and Iran”, sanctioning, for example, the shipping company Khazar Sea Shipping Lines. The American sanctions have the effect of freezing any assets in the United States and prohibit in principle any person or company from carrying out commercial exchanges with the designated entities.