Dozens of Russian Financial Institutions Hit with New US Sanctions
The sanctions impact Russia’s largest remaining unsanctioned bank, Gazprombank, a major channel for Russian fossil fuel purchases.
The United States introduced sanctions on Nov. 21 against nearly 100 Russian financial institutions, and 15 individuals, in hopes of further constraining Moscow’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.
The sanctions also target 11 Russian officials who work for the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (CBR), three members of the Shanghai, China, branch of Russia’s VTB Bank Public Joint Stock Company, and the deputy managing director of the Russian Sberbank’s New Delhi, India, branch.
The United States has previously sanctioned CBR, VTB, and Sberbank.
“Today’s sanctions targeting Russia’s largest remaining non-designated bank, as well as dozens of other financial institutions and officials in Russia, will further diminish and degrade Russia’s war machine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Nov. 21.
One of the major Russian banks targeted with this latest round of sanctions is the Gazprombank Joint Stock Company (Gazprombank), and its various foreign subsidiaries.
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A Nov. 21 statement from the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Asset Controls states the new sanctions will not apply to exports to Japan from the Sakhalin-2 project until June 28, 2025.The Treasury Department said the sanctions on the other banks and securities registrars will also undermine Russia’s ability to purchase equipment and technology critical to their war effort.
The sanctions come as President Joe Biden’s administration has moved to provide Ukraine with as much financial and military support as it can before Biden’s term ends in January.
Other reports have emerged that the administration has permitted Ukraine to use U.S.-donated long-range weapons to strike inside Russian territory.
The administration has yet to confirm these reports.
The new sanctions on Russia and the new weapons transfers to Ukraine come with just weeks to go before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Trump has signaled a preference for quickly negotiating an end to the war.
It remains to be seen how these negotiations may play out and whether the incoming Trump administration will stay the course set by the Biden administration if negotiations fail to bring a quick end to the war.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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