President Joe Biden observed the second anniversary of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, as well as the death of Alexei Navalny, by announcing the imposition of 500 new sanctions on Russia. “These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents,” Biden said in a statement posted by the White House this morning. “They will ensure Putin pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.
“We are also imposing new export restrictions on nearly 100 entities for providing backdoor support for Russia’s war machine. We are taking action to further reduce Russia’s energy revenues. And I’ve directed my team to strengthen support for civil society, independent media, and those who fight for democracy around the world,” he went on.
Biden also appealed to the U.S. Congress to pass his war budget request, still stalled in the House of Representatives because Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition. “Ukraine needs more supplies from the United States to hold the line against Russia’s relentless attacks, which are enabled by arms and ammunition from Iran and North Korea. That’s why the House of Representatives must pass the bipartisan national security supplemental bill, before it’s too late.”
The U.S. Treasury Department, in an accompanying statement, announced that it and the State Department had designated three Russian government officials in connection with Navalny’s death. Together, it continues, “Treasury and State are sanctioning over 500 targets to impose additional costs for Russia’s repression, human rights abuses, and aggression against Ukraine. The Department of Commerce is also adding more than 90 companies to the Entity List.”
Furthermore, “To deny Russia the resources necessary to support its brutal war against Ukraine, Treasury is designating targets including a major cog in Russia’s financial infrastructure; more than two dozen third-country sanctions evaders in Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East; and hundreds of entities in Russia’s military-industrial base and other key sectors.”
