Biden announces new batch of sanctions: Complete rupture in US-Russia ties

US President Joe Biden announced Thursday a second batch of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, saying the latest moves would cut off “more than half of Russia’s high-tech imports.”

Biden said the sanctions, in coordination with Europe, would block top Russian banks from the US financial system and prevent.

This would also “limit Russia’s ability to do business in dollars, euros, pounds, yen,” he said.

The US president added: “This is going to impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time.”

The Treasury Department released a list of the sanctions shortly after Biden’s remarks.

They include Russia’s two largest financial institutions and several people with reported links to Putin.

The CEO of Rosneft, an oil giant, and the secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council were also designated, among others.

“The United States took significant and unprecedented action to respond to Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine by imposing severe economic costs that will have both immediate and long-term effects on the Russian economy and financial system,” the Treasury Department said.
Belarus officials sanctioned

Separately, the Treasury Department released a list of 24 Belarusian individuals and entities due to “Belarus’s support for, and facilitation of, the invasion.”

“Belarus has become increasingly reliant on Russia for economic, political, and military support in recent years as the regime has clung to power following the fraudulent August 2020 presidential election,” the Treasury Department said.

The Belarusian individuals include Viktor Khrenin, the country’s defense minister, and Aleksandr Volfovich, the State Secretary of the Security Council of Belarus.