In an effort to put more pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin following the heightened invasion and unexpected death of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny a week ago, the Biden administration announced more than 600 sanctions against Russia and its military industry on Friday. This is the largest round of sanctions since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
Top Russian businesses are the targets of sanctions on Friday, including railroad logistics company Mechel, the world's top producer of specialty steel used in Russian attack helicopters, and JSC SUEK, a railroad logistics company. Along with Russian and international business leaders, MIR, the Central Bank of Russia's national payment processing system, has also received sanctions.
Most of the sanctioned organizations outside of Russia are associated with companies that supply Russia's military. 26 non-Russian entities and individuals from 11 nations, including China, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and Liechtenstein, are included in the sanctions imposed on Friday.
John Kirby remarked that it was difficult to believe the Russians ‘justification for Navalny's demise.
“It is obvious that President Putin and his administration are to blame for Mr. Navalny's death,” Kirby said, “regardless of the narrative the Russian government chooses to present to the world.”
Since the start of the war, the Biden administration has imposed a number of economic sanctions against Russia, including freezing billions of Russian assets and cutting off Russian banks and businesses from western financial markets.
The most recent round comes after a deal made earlier this week by members of the European Union to impose additional sanctions related to Ukraine that target about 200 organizations and people.
Despite the sanctions, The International Monetary Fund stated in a January report that Russia's economy is still anticipated to grow steadily by 2.6% in 2024 after experiencing “stronger-than-expected” growth in that year.
Since the beginning of the war, the West has attempted to reduce Russia's oil revenues, but this hasn’t had a negative impact on the Kremlin. According to Christopher Swift, a national security attorney with Foley and Lardner LLP who previously assisted in enforcing Treasury sanctions, the U.S. led its international allies in late 2022 to impose a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil shipments, but there has been widespread circumvention.
Swift noted that Russian oligarchs have made a fair amount of effort to avoid sanctions, despite the fact that sanctions against the energy sector have been less successful than those imposed on the banking sector.
