Washington unveils new sanctions on Russia

The US and other G7 nations will target defense industry supply chains, the White House says

The US and other G7 nations are about to impose restrictions on “hundreds of individuals and entities” as part of its new round of sanctions on Russia, the White House announced on Monday. The measures will target Russia’s military-industrial complex to deprive it of key technologies, it said.

The leading Western economies – the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan – will “aggressively target” Russia’s major state-owned defense enterprises, defense research institutions, and other “defense-related” entities with “blocking sanctions,” the White House statement said. The goal of the restrictions is to sap the Russian defense industry of “critical components” and limit its ability to replace equipment it loses in the conflict with Kiev, it added.

Western nations will continue to “restrict Russia’s access to key industrial inputs, services, and technologies produced by our economies,” the White House said, adding that the effects of the measures will become more visible “over time.”

Washington has not named any specific entities or individuals that will face restrictions as part of the new sanctions. It only said it plans to put a total of 500 Russian officials on its blacklist for “exercising illegitimate authority” and committing “human rights abuses.”

The G7 nations will also impose restrictions on foreign companies engaged in “backfill activities” and helping Russia evade sanctions.

Additional measures announced by Washington include higher tariffs on “on more than 570 groups of Russian products worth approximately $2.3 billion to Russia.” The measures were “carefully calibrated” to hurt the Russian economy and spare America’s, the statement said. Additional revenues obtained through the new tariffs might be used to support Ukraine, the White House said.

On Sunday, the US, UK, Canada, and Japan announced an embargo on Russian gold. At the G7 level, the initiative faced resistance from Germany, which said decisions such as this should be made by the EU first.