WASHINGTON: The United States marked the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Friday (Dec 24) with US$2 billion in weaponry for Kyiv and new sanctions against Russia aimed at undermining Moscow’s ability to wage war.
US President Joe Biden’s administration unveiled the sanctions as the G7 nations and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met to discuss more aid.
Among the steps were placing visa restrictions on Russian military members, freezing the assets of allies of President Vladimir Putin, effectively banning aluminum imports from Russia, curbing Russian banking and arms-making activity and putting the country’s second largest mobile phone company Megafon on a trade blacklist.
Additional measures could be imposed at a later date, US officials said.
The Biden administration also sent a message to China and other countries that they should not try to help Russia evade sanctions.
“We will sanction additional actors tied to Russia’s defence and technology industry, including those responsible for backfilling Russian stocks of sanctioned items or enabling Russian sanctions evasion,” the White House said.
The aid to Ukraine, however, fell short of providing the F-16 fighter jets that Kyiv has requested and some US officials are raising doubts about the ability of such measures to slow the increasing hostilities on the battlefield ahead of an anticipated springtime offensive by Russia.
Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the US, said the sanctions would have no impact.
He said the new sanctions were “thoughtless” and designed to make Russia suffer.
“Does anyone really think that this is the way to get our country to abandon its independent policies, to force it off its chosen path towards building a multipolar world based on the principle of indivisible security, on international law and the UN Charter?” a post on the embassy’s Facebook page quoted him as saying.
NEW PENALTIES
After the G7 meeting, the leaders stated the nations would have “unwavering support for Ukraine for as long as it takes”, including the possibility of further sanctions.
European Union countries later overcome internal disagreements and announced a 10th round of sanctions.
The US State Department’s sanctions included Russian cabinet ministers, and dozens of governors and regional chiefs.
The US Treasury Department’s new measures hit 22 Russian individuals and 83 entities, adding to more than 2,500 sanctions imposed over the past year.
Increased US tariffs will also be levied on more than 100 Russian metals, minerals and chemical products worth about US$2.8 billion to Russia.
The US also planned to announce US$250 million in aid to shore up Ukraine’s energy infrastructure in the face of Russian attacks.
Neighbouring Moldova will get US$300 million to help wean itself from energy dependence on Russia.
US prosecutors also announced steps to charge a Russian national with illegally exporting counterintelligence equipment and to seize the New York apartment and other properties worth US$75 million belonging to Putin associate Viktor Vekselberg, whom Washington imposed sanctions on most recently last year.
While multiple rounds of Western sanctions have damaged the Russian economy, Putin can still fund his war.
That has prompted officials to focus increasingly on third parties that are helping Russia dodge the sanctions.
The US Treasury included penalties on more than 30 people and companies from Switzerland, Germany and other nations for helping Moscow finance its war against Ukraine.
The US Commerce Department, meanwhile, is imposing export curbs on nearly 90 Russian and third-country companies, including in China, for engaging in sanctions evasion in support of Russia’s defense sector and to stop them from buying items like semiconductors.
They are also working to prevent components found in Iranian drones from making their way to the Ukraine battlefield, officials said.
Washington has warned, without producing evidence, that China is considering providing weapons to Russia. China has said more weapons would worsen the conflict.
The Biden administration has committed more than US$32 billion in military aid over the past year to Ukraine, including 8,500 Javelin anti-armor systems and 38 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and a number of different types of drones, according to the Defence Department.
