United States Imposes New Sanctions on Russia

U.S. President Joe Biden reaffirmed his unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He announced the decision of the United States to impose a series of sanctions on Russia over its illegal actions to recognise the “independence” of the so-called “LPR” and “DPR.”

The new sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt mean “cutting off the Russian economy from Western financing,” Biden said. “The Russian government can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade its new debt on our markets, or European markets either,” he explained.

In addition, “blocking” sanctions are imposed on the state investment bank VEB and Russian “military bank” Promsvyazbank, which serves the Russian military-industrial complex.

The United States will also impose sanctions on Russian elites and their families who “share the corruption benefits of Kremlin policy.”

The U.S. Department of Treasury already issued a press release on the imposition of sanctions on Denis Bortnikov, the son of FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov; Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of First Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Administration of Russia Sergey Kiriyenko; and Petr Fradkov, the son of former Russian prime minister and former head of the Foreign Intelligence Service Mikhail Fradkov. Denis Bortnikov is VTB’s top manager, Vladimir Kiriyenko is the director of VK Corporation, and Petr Fradkov is the chairman of Promsvyazbank.

The U.S. president ordered the redeployment of additional troops, already stationed in Europe, to the Baltic states in response to the retention of Russian troops in Belarus. Biden noted that those were defence measures.

Biden stressed that the United States would impose new sanctions if Russia continued invading Ukraine, not ruling out hope for a diplomatic way out of the crisis.

In addition, on 22 February, Joe Biden met with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba to reaffirm the U.S. commitment to Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. President Biden “reaffirmed that the United States would continue to provide Ukraine with security assistance and macroeconomic support,” and reiterated the United States’ readiness, in close coordination with its allies, to respond quickly and decisively to further Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Natalia Tolub