The United States and the European Union are piling new sanctions on Russia on the eve of the second anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine and in retaliation for the death of noted Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in an Arctic penal colony last week.

The U.S. Treasury Department, State Department and Commerce Department plan to impose about 600 new sanctions on Russia and its war machine on Friday, in the largest round of sanctions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. They followed a series of sanctions. of new arrests and indictments announced Thursday by the Justice Department targeting Russian businessmen, including the head of Russia’s second-largest bank, and their intermediaries in five separate federal cases.

The European Union announced Friday that it is imposing sanctions on several foreign companies over allegations that they exported dual-use goods to Russia that could be used in the war against Ukraine. The 27-nation bloc also said it targeted dozens of Russian officials, including members of the judiciary, local politicians and people responsible for the illegal deportation and military re-education of Ukrainian children.

The American people and people around the world understand that the stakes of this fight extend far beyond Ukraine, President Biden said in a statement announcing the sanctions. If

[Russian President Vladimir]

Putin will not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will continue. And the costs for the United States, along with our NATO allies and partners in Europe and around the world, will rise.

Speaking from the White House

on

On Friday, Biden said the US would hit Russia with more than 500 new sanctions.

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While previous sanctions have increased the cost to Russia’s ability to fight in Ukraine, they appear to have done little so far to deter Putin’s aggression or ambitions. The Biden administration is imposing additional sanctions as Republicans in the House of Representatives block billions of dollars in additional aid to Ukraine.

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Trump expresses skepticism about the benefits of the NATO alliance and says he would encourage Russia to do whatever they want to countries that, in his view, are not doing their part to the alliance.

Many of the new U.S. sanctions announced Friday target Russian companies contributing to the Kremlin’s war effort, including manufacturers of drones and industrial chemicals and importers of machine tools, as well as financial institutions such as Russia’s state-owned operator Mir National Payment System.

In response to Navalny’s death, the State Department designated three Russian officials the U.S. says are linked to his death, including the deputy director of Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service, who was promoted by Putin to the rank of colonel- general.

on

Monday, three days after Navalny died.

The sanctions would prevent the officials from traveling to the US and block access to US property. However, it is unclear how many of the sanctioned officials travel to the West or have assets or family. If they don’t, the sanctions could be largely symbolic.

The US will also impose visa restrictions on Russian authorities it says are involved in the kidnapping and detention of Ukrainian children.

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In addition, 26 third-country people and companies from across China, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Liechtenstein are listed for sanctions for helping Russia evade existing financial sanctions.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the EU sanctions are illegal and undermine the international legal prerogatives of the UN Security Council. In response, the ministry bans a number of EU citizens from entering the country because they have provided military aid to Ukraine. There was no immediate comment on the US sanctions.

The US would specifically target individuals involved in Navalny’s capture, a day after Biden met the opposition leader’s widow and daughter in California. It also hit Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders on multiple continents, Biden said. They will ensure that Putin pays an even higher price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.

The EU’s asset freezes and travel bans are the thirteenth package of measures the bloc has imposed on people and organizations it suspects are undermining Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Today we are further tightening restrictive measures against Russia’s military and defense sectors, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. We remain united in our determination to damage the Russian war machine and help Ukraine win its legitimate struggle for self-defense.

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A total of 106 additional officials and 88 entities (often companies, banks, government agencies or other organizations) have been added to the bloc’s sanctions list, bringing the number of people and entities targeted to more than 2,000 people and entities, including

Russian President Vladimir

Putin and his associates.

Companies making electronic components, which the EU believes could have both military and civilian applications, were among 27 entities accused of directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex in its war of aggression against Ukraine, a statement said.

These companies, some of which are based in India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand and Turkey, are facing stricter export restrictions.

The bloc said the companies have been involved in circumventing trade restrictions, and accused others of developing, producing and supplying electronic components intended to help Russia’s armed forces.

Some measures aim to deprive Russia of parts for unmanned drones, which military experts see as key to the war.

Since the beginning of the war, the U.S. Treasury and State Departments have designated this

well more than

4,000 officials, oligarchs, companies, banks and others are under Russia-related sanctions authorities. The Group has also imposed a price ceiling of $60 per barrel on Russian oil

7Seven

allies, intended to reduce Russia’s fossil fuel revenues.

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Critics of the sanctions, price ceiling and other measures aimed at halting Russia’s invasion say they are not working fast enough.

Maria Snegovaya, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said primarily sanctioning Russia’s defense industry and failing to meaningfully cut Russia’s energy revenues will not be enough to stop the war.

Somehow, they will eventually have to address Russia’s oil revenues and consider an oil embargo, Snegovaya said. The oil price ceiling effectively no longer works.

Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told reporters previewing the new sanctions that the US and its allies will not lower the price ceiling; What we can do well is take measures that will increase the cost of Russian oil production.

He added that sanctions alone are not enough to bring Ukraine to victory.

We owe the long-held Ukrainian people the support and resources they so desperately need to defend their homeland and prove Putin wrong once and for all.

Associated Press writers Josh Bo and Zeke Miller in Washington and Emma Burrows in London contributed to this report.