Washington – On Wednesday, the United States announced a new package of sanctions against Russia in response to… I mentioned the atrocities About the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which includes economic sanctions on the adult children of Russian President Vladimir Putin and top Russian security officials.
The White House said the additional sanctions were implemented in coordination with the Group of Seven and the European Union, and are designed to impose “severe and immediate economic costs” on Russia for its atrocities in Ukraine.
“As long as Russia continues its brutal attack on Ukraine, we will stand united with our allies and partners in imposing additional costs on Russia for its actions,” the White House said in an announcement of the sanctions.
The measures include banning all new investments in Russia, increasing sanctions against Russia’s largest financial institutions and state-owned companies, including Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and imposing sanctions on Russian government officials and their family members. Targeted by the full embargo sanctions are Putin’s two adult daughters, the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and members of Russia’s Security Council, including former President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.
Actions targeting Sberbank and Alpha Bank, Russia’s largest private bank, have frozen any of their assets affecting a US financial institution and preventing US citizens from doing business with the two banks. Sanctions on state-owned companies, which are not yet named, prevent any US citizen from doing business with the entities.
As with previous economic measures on Russian financial institutions, there is an energy cut.
The measures are aimed at “weakening the main instruments of Russian state power” and inflicting rapid economic damage on Russia, sources told CBS News on Tuesday.
President Biden told reporters at the White House on Monday that he would Seek additional sanctions On Russia after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Bucha, outside Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said they had discovered civilian bodies after Russian forces withdrew from the area.
“You saw what happened in Bucha. That calls for it – he’s a war criminal,” Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “But we have to gather information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs to keep fighting, and we have to get all the details so that this can be an actual experience — having an experience in wartime. This guy is brutal, and what is happening in Bucha is outrageous, and everyone has seen it. “.
White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also told reporters at the White House that he expects more sanctions announcements “this week.”
In a virtual address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, Zelensky said Detailed for the 15-member body What he said was war crimes It was committed by the Russian forces that invaded Ukraine, accusing them of deliberately killing adults and children, and trying to burn their bodies.
“Russian forces smash Ukrainian cities with artillery and air strikes. They seal off cities, leading to mass starvation. They deliberately shoot civilians on the road in an attempt to flee the hostilities. They even deliberately blow up their shelters. Civilian air strikes.
While Russia has I rejected the horrific scenes As “fake”, the CBS News Witnessed closely Clear evidence of atrocities in the towns and villages around Kyiv. On the streets of Bucha, corpses were found on the streets, while dozens were dumped in mass graves.
The devastation caused by Putin’s forces has sparked new calls for tougher sanctions against Russia, including a complete cut off of oil and gas imports. Germany and France have already expelled dozens of diplomats, citing them as spies.
Since Russia launched its attacks on Ukraine in late February, the United States and its European allies have united in launching coordinated sanctions aimed at isolating Russia from the global economy.
The Russian economy is expected to contract 15% or more in 2022, a collapse in Russia’s gross domestic product that will wipe out 15 years of economic growth, according to an analysis from the Institute of International Finance.