The sanctions, issued by the Treasury and State Department, target the luxury assets of several prominent Russian elites – including several yachts and planes belonging to Putin’s allies – and “service and asset management companies. “luxury” working to evade US sanctions. according to a White House statement. The Commerce Department also issued new sanctions restricting Russia’s ability to secure military technology.
The sanctions target several Russian elites and prominent government officials, including Russian businessman God Nisanov, whom Secretary of State Antony Blinken calls “one of the richest men in Europe and a close associate of several Russian officials.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. .
The White House said in a statement that the latest sanctions are designed “to crack down on evasion and toughen our sanctions to improve enforcement and increase pressure on Putin and his facilitators.”
“President Putin’s war against Ukraine is also an attack on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. Ukraine is fighting valiantly to defend its people and independence with unprecedented US assistance “The United States will continue to support the people of Ukraine while promoting the accountability of President Putin and those who allow Russian aggression,” Blinken said in a statement. sanctions.
The Treasury Department’s Foreign Assets Control Office identified two yachts, the “Graceful Russia-flagged and the Cayman Islands-flag Olympia,” as “blocked property in which President Vladimir Putin has an interest “.
Putin, according to the Treasury, has “made numerous trips” to the yachts as recently as last year. He also appointed several management companies and other owners associated with the yachts, as well as other yacht brokerage companies associated with Putin.
The sanctions also target two more yachts, the Shellest and the Nega, both owned by Russian companies.
“Shelest regularly travels to the coast where President Putin’s famous Black Sea Palace is located, and President Putin uses Nega to travel to northern Russia,” the Treasury Department said.
Thursday’s sanctions also target Putin’s “close friend” Sergei Pavlovich Roldugin, who, according to the Treasury, is “the godfather of one of Putin’s daughters,” as well as Roldugin’s wife, Elena. Yuryevna Mirtova. Roldugin is the artistic director of the St. Petersburg House of Music and Mirtova is a soprano opera singer.
The administration also sanctioned a number of other yachts and planes belonging to Putin’s partners.
Five additional Russian government officials were placed on the Treasury Department’s sanctions list, including Yury Slyusar, chairman of a Russian state-owned aircraft company, Vitaly Savelyev, and Transport Minister Maxim Reshentnikov. the Minister of Economic Development, Irek Envarovich Faizullin. , the Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities, and Dmitriy Yuryevich Grigorenko, the Deputy Prime Minister.
And the State Department has imposed sanctions on six additional officials or entities, including God Nisanov, who according to the State Department is “a real estate investor and one of the richest people in Europe.” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova is also among those sanctioned. Severgroup, a “multimillion-dollar Russian investment company with stakes and subsidiaries in metallurgy, engineering, mining, tourism, banking, technology, media and finance, among other sectors,” is also being sanctioned, along with its leader Alexey Mordashov and three members of his family.
The sanctions follow the announcement of the rocket
The announcement comes days after the president announced that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with more advanced rocket and ammunition systems to help the Ukrainian military attack key targets on the battlefield more accurately. The new package includes “new capabilities and advanced weapons,” Biden said, including high-mobility artillery rocket systems with battlefield ammunition.
In April, Biden said “major war crimes” were being committed in Ukraine after the White House announced new sanctions on Russia’s largest financial institutions and the number of Kremlin-linked individuals, including the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden cited horrific images from the occupied Ukrainian city of Bukha, which Russian forces occupied, and said the US would continue to increase pressure on Putin and further isolate Russia from the rest of the world.
Since the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia began in February, the United States and its allies have taken a wide range of actions aimed at punishing Moscow.
The United States and several other countries have banned Russian aircraft from US airspace and expelled certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world. The United States has banned US dollar transactions with the Russian central bank and completely blocked Russian direct investment funds, implemented technology export blocs and imposed sanctions on Russian banks and billionaires and their families. which are close to the Kremlin.
Biden has been consulting closely with other world leaders and is trying to project unity among Western allies with a coordinated response. In March, the President of the United States traveled to Europe to meet in person with world leaders and to attend a NATO emergency summit to discuss the invasion of Russia.
This story has been updated with additional information.