The United States is to announce new sanctions against the “Russian war machine” on Friday as part of a concerted effort by G7 countries, a senior White House official said.
All G7 member states, whose leaders are meeting for a summit in Hiroshima, Japan, are “preparing to put in place new sanctions and export barriers,” the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
These measures, to which the US is contributing with a “substantial” set of sanctions, will “make it even more difficult for Russia to fuel its war machine,” the same source assured.
The US measures are intended to “extensively restrict Russia’s access to products needed for its warfighting capabilities,” the official explained.
The US will specifically ban US exports to 70 entities in Russia and other countries. Washington is also putting in place 300 sanctions against a variety of targets, “people, organisations, ships and aircraft,” across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The West has piled unprecedented sanctions on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, in a bid to strangle it economically - including drying up its hydrocarbon revenue - and to disrupt its defence industry.
Its concern now is to prevent Moscow from circumventing the sanctions, so the latest US measures also aim to “close any loopholes” that may exist.
Washington vows to put pressure on the Russian financial sector as well as Russia’s ability to produce energy in the medium and long term, the senior White House official said.
It also intends to “maintain the freeze on Russian sovereign assets,” the official added.
