US introduces new large-scale sanctions against Russia

On Thursday, the United States introduced a new sanctions package against Russia. 

Banks, factories, and ships came under restrictions, Rubryka reports, referring to the US Department of the Treasury.

Russian billionaires Iskandar Mahmudov, Andriy Bokarev, and Igor Altushkin have come under American sanctions, and 24 more individuals, including citizens of Georgia and Poland, are now subject to restrictions.

The following companies are also subject to restrictions: Avtovaz, Moskvich, Transmashholding, Rosavtodor, Saturn, Sinko-Bank, Russian Copper Company, United Metallurgical Company, and Sollers.

The US Department of the Treasury clarifies that legal entities from Belgium, the UAE, Slovenia, Türkiye, and the CAR have been sanctioned in addition to Russian companies. In total, almost 150 legal entities came under American restrictions. The US also imposed sanctions against two Panamanian-flagged floating storage tankers.

Reuters reports that the administration of US President Joe Biden plans to add five Turkish companies and one Turkish citizen to the list of sanctions.

"The sanctioned companies, which include shipping and trading companies, are accused of assisting in repairing vessels linked to the Russian Ministry of Defense that are subject to sanctions and assisting in the transfer of 'dual-use goods,'" the report says.

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the US would closely monitor the meeting between Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, and is ready to impose new sanctions on the countries if they conclude any agreement to supply arms.

It was also reported that the Council of the European Union decided to extend the sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities responsible for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine for six months.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously that those involved in the Russian pseudo-elections in the occupied territories of Ukraine risk being subject to US sanctions.

Earlier, the EU High Representative Josep Borrell wrote in his blog that Western sanctions sufficiently affect the economic, industrial, and technological potential of the Russian Federation, and accusations that they do not work are not true.

As Rubryka wrote, the content of the last of the 11 sanctions packages against Russia was made public by the EU on June 23, 2023.