In a collective and coordinated Western effort against Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom have announced fresh sanctions ahead of the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In fresh peanlties, Washington will impose sanctions on 500 targets, whereas the UK is seeking to diminish Russian President Vladimir Putin's weapons arsenal.
Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Thursday that the United States is set to impose sanctions on over 500 targets on Friday. The sanctions mark the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he told Reuters in an interview on Thursday.
Speaking to Reuters, Adeyemo said that the action, taken in partnership with other countries, will target Russia's military industrial complex and companies in third countries that facilitate Russia's access to goods it wants. Adeyemo’s remarks come as Washington seeks to hold Russia to account over the war and the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
"Tomorrow we'll release hundreds of sanctions just here in the United States, but it's important to step back and remember that it's not just America taking these actions," Adeyemo told Reuters. The new sanctions announced by the US will be the latest of thousands of sanctions targeting Russia announced by it and its allies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which claimed over a thousand lives and destroyed cities.
The fresh set of penalties comes as the U.S. and its allies look to maintain pressure on Moscow, despite doubts over whether the U.S. Congress will approve additional security assistance for Kyiv.
According to Reuters, the US government has exhausted money approved for Ukraine, and a request for more funds is languishing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. "Sanctions and export controls are geared towards slowing Russia down, making it harder for them to fight their war of choice in Ukraine," Adeyemo said, as quoted by Reuters.
"But ultimately, in order to speed Ukraine up, to give them the ability to defend themselves, Congress needs to act to give Ukraine the resources that they need and the weapons they need." According to experts, the sanctions are not enough to stop Moscow's attacks.
"What Congress does to pass additional military assistance to Ukraine is going to matter far, far more than anything else they could do on the sanctions front," Peter Harrell, a former National Security Council official, said, as quoted by Reuters.
UK's Sanctions Against Russia
The United Kingdom announced a new package of sanctions against Russia on Thursday. The package, covering more than 50 individuals and entities, was announced two days before second anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
"Our international economic pressure means Russia cannot afford this illegal invasion. Our sanctions are starving Putin of the resources he desperately needs to fund his struggling war," Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.
On Wednesday, the European Union gave approval to its own package of sanctions, imposing a ban on nearly 200 entities and individuals accused of helping Moscow procure weapons or of involvement in kidnapping Ukrainian children, as reported by Reuters.