The United States (U.S.) said on Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on more than 300 individuals and entities connected to Russia’s war on Ukraine, including financial institutions, the Moscow Stock Exchange, and Chinese companies.
The announcement came a day before U.S. President, Joe Biden, joins other Group of Seven (G7) leaders for a summit in the Italian city of Bari, in which the war in Ukraine is set to feature prominently.
The sweeping set of sanctions is chiefly focused on trade, finance and industry.
U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said the sanctions hit “across multiple sectors essential to Russia’s war effort,” including energy, metals and mining production.
China was singled out for its support of Moscow.
“The United States remains concerned by the scale and breadth of exports from the People’s Republic of China that supply Russia’s military-industrial base,” Blinken’s statement said.
To that end, the US is sanctioning Chinese companies that provide duel-use goods that “fill critical gaps in Russia’s defence production cycle,” he said.
It is not just China, however. Individuals and organisations in countries elsewhere in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean are also subject to new restrictive measures.
Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, said Russia “is deeply isolated from the international financial system, leaving the Kremlin’s military desperate for access to the outside world.”
She said the sanctions go after critical supplies Russia needs from other countries.
Several Russian banks also saw their foreign locations put on blacklists to make it harder for financial transactions to be fulfilled.
Other corners of Russia’s financial infrastructure were hit, including the Moscow Stock Exchange and two subsidiaries, and insurance and reinsurance providers.
The Treasury Department said it was trying to choke off military supply chains by sanctioning dozens of individuals and entities in a slew of countries besides Russia and China.
Some of the newly listed targets will help close sanction loopholes or go after evaders, it said.
The department said sanctions affected people and firms in places such as Belarus, the British Virgin Islands, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, South Africa, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
