The US Department of the Treasury enacted this Saturday sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces , Army General Valery Gerasimov, in response to the special military operation launched by Moscow in Ukraine.
“Today, the United States, in coordination with allies and partners, continued to respond forcefully to Russia’s unwarranted, unprovoked, and premeditated invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions on the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, as well as other members of the Russian Security Council,” the statement read.
“As President Biden said yesterday, Putin rejected all good-faith efforts by the United States and our allies and partners to address our mutual security concerns through dialogue, in order to avoid unnecessary conflict and human suffering,” he said. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen.
The official reported that Washington, in collaboration with its “international allies and partners,” intends to “ensure that Russia pays a high economic and diplomatic price for its new invasion of Ukraine.” She also added that if necessary, the US is ready to impose “further measures on Russia because of her terrible behavior on the world stage.”
Specifically, the Russian president is accused of being ultimately responsible “for Russia’s war against Ukraine, the destabilization of Russia’s neighbors, the suffering of the Ukrainian people and years of Russia’s malign activities worldwide.”
In parallel, Lavrov was sanctioned for using his position as chancellor to present “the false narrative that Ukraine is the aggressor” and seek “aggressively to justify Russia’s actions worldwide.” Furthermore, by playing the role of “chief diplomat representing Russia on the world stage, Lavrov helped facilitate Russia’s aggressive actions against sovereign states and allowed Russia to degrade democracy globally,” the Treasury Department states.
For their part, both Shoigu and Gerasimov have been declared “directly responsible for the new invasion of Ukraine.”
How are they penalized?
• “All property and interests in property of the above persons, whether in the US or in the possession or control of US persons,” are blocked and must be reported to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). its acronym in English).
• “Any entity” owned by the Russian President and other blacklisted officials who own 50% or more is blocked.
• “All transactions by US persons, or within (or in transit) the United States, involving any property or interest in property” of Putin, Lavrov, Shoigu or Gerasimov are prohibited. A possible exception would require the possession of an authorization obtained through “a general or specific license issued by OFAC” or be exempt from the veto in another way.
• “These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, for, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person.”
The European Union
The European Union also agreed this Friday to impose sanctions against 98 Russian citizens, including President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Vice President of the Russian Security Council Dmitri Medvedev, and Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokóltsev, among others.
The package of measures contemplates the restriction of access of the Russian Government and the Central Bank to the capital market of the organism, the prohibition to export technologies for the oil industry to Russia as well as the export of goods and technologies necessary for the aeronautical and space industries.
The restrictions also prohibit the provision of state funds or financial assistance to trade with Russia and invest in the country.
United Kingdom
For her part, the United Kingdom Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, announced that London is imposing sanctions against Putin and Lavrov in response to the military operation in Ukraine.
The restrictions involve freezing the accounts of both Russian politicians on British soil, if any are discovered. “We will not stop inflicting economic pain on the Kremlin until Ukrainian sovereignty is restored,” Truss said.
Canada
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he will impose sanctions on Russian President Lavrov and Russian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov in response to Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine.
Trudeau acknowledged that Putin does not have “much or nothing in terms of personal property in Canada”, but assured that it is “a significant step and it has its impact on the fact that we, as Western countries, are united and aligned on this.” “.
Also included as part of the third set of sanctions against Russia, which the Prime Minister called “coordinated” and “severe,” is Canada’s support for Russia’s exclusion from the SWIFT global banking system.
-This Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced “a special military operation to defend Donbass.” In a special message to Russian citizens, the president explained that the objective of the operation is “to protect people who have been subjected to abuse and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.”
-The Russian Defense Ministry assured that the Russian Armed Forces target the Ukrainian military infrastructure and do not attack either the surrendered troops or the civilian population
-For their part, several countries such as the US, the UK, Canada and Japan announced new sanctions against large banks and companies and against the political and financial elites of Russia
