US and G7 to announce new sanctions against Russia over Ukraine

USA and the rest of the main economies of the “Group of Seven” will present new sanctions and export controls against Russia for his war on Ukraineannounced a US official before the summit of the G7 in Japan.

G7 leaders meet in Hiroshima on Friday with the invasion of Ukraine high on the agenda. The United States has led the way in imposing tough sanctions on Russian companies, banks and individuals, and the upcoming announcement is intended to reaffirm the determination of world powers to support Ukraine and put pressure on Moscow.

A US official said Thursday that the G7’s efforts are aimed at disrupting Russia’s ability to obtain the materials it needs for the battlefield.

What they will do is specifically ban US exports to 70 entities in Russia and other countries.

Western countries have applied an unprecedented series of sanctions against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, to affect that country economically, by reducing the income generated by hydrocarbons and disorganizing its defense industry.

There have been exactly 300 sanctions against various and varied targets, “people, organizations, ships and planes”in Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Their concern now is to prevent Russia from avoiding sanctions, and the latest US moves are also aimed at reducing the possibility of that happening.

What the United States seeks is to further reduce international dependence on Russian energy and restrict Moscow’s access to the international financial system.

In addition, “influencing the (Russian) financial sector and Russian energy production capacity in the medium and long term”said the senior official of the White House.

It is also about “maintain the sovereign asset freeze” russians.

This US source did not want to give details about the sanctions that the other G7 countries will also announce, and assured that they will be mentioned in a summit communiqué dedicated to Ukraine.

United States seeks “further align (its) sanctions with those imposed by the European Union and the United Kingdom to ensure that the G7 remains as coordinated as possible.”

(With information from Reuters and AFP)