Western countries have adopted different sanctions against Russia for eight years, when in March 2014 the crisis between Ukraine and Moscow aggravated as a result of the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
In 2021, the US president, Joe Biden, aggravated the sanctions for the Navalni case and now the United States and the European Union (EU) have imposed the first punishments on Russia for the decision of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, to recognize the independence of the Donbas in Ukraine, a region partly controlled for years by pro-Russian separatists.
Crimea, in 2014
Following the Crimean crisis, Canada was the first country to enact sanctions and on March 5 suspended its participation in the Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission. It also decided to expel nine Russian soldiers who participated in cooperation programs. On March 6, the United States and the EU followed.
The United States announced the restriction of visas to numerous officials whom it considered responsible for the violation of Ukraine’s integrity, while Europe suspended negotiations for the liberalization of visas and guaranteed economic aid and a political agreement to Kiev.
Likewise, Russia was excluded from the G8, the EU suspended the bilateral summit scheduled for June 2014 in the Russian city of Sochi and diplomatic sanctions were imposed, which have been tightened with the outbreak of pro-Russian armed revolts in eastern Ukraine.
At the end of July of that year, the EU adopted economic sanctions and agreed to restrict access to European capital markets for Russian public banks, an arms embargo, a ban on exporting dual-use goods to Russia and a veto on exports. equipment for the oil sector.
Soon after, Moscow banned imports of perishable agri-food products from EU countries.
In April 2014, the United States approved an economic aid package to Ukraine worth US$1 billion to guarantee loans for the new Ukrainian authorities.
The EU foreign ministers authorized, in turn, the granting of unilateral tariff advantages to Kiev, as well as a macro-financial aid of 1,000 million euros.
Apart from these measures, Germany halted the sale of a combat training center to the Russian Army by the Rheinmetall consortium.
In this context, in November 2014, Russia acknowledged that it was losing more than US$40 billion a year due to sanctions.
In August 2016, US President Donald Trump tightened sanctions against Russia for its actions in Ukraine and Syria. Also, the EU extended on August 4, the list of sanctions against Russia for the sale of gas turbines to Crimea.
However, in January 2019 the United States lifted its sanctions on Russian aluminum giant Rusal and other companies that had been penalized for their ties to Kremlin-linked oligarch Oleg Deripaska.
Navalni, in 2021
In March it was the first decision of the new tenant of the White House, Joe Biden, in this case for the conviction and poisoning of the Russian opponent Alexei Navalni.
On March 17, the government of President Biden announced new sanctions on Russia for the use of chemical weapons against dissidents. The Department of Commerce reported in a statement the blocking of exports to Russia of sensitive products that could be used for chemical weapons activities for reasons of national security.
Ukraine 2022
On September 10, 2021, the EU extended for another six months, until March 15, 2022, the sanctions against persons and entities responsible for “undermining or threatening” the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.
On January 13, the EU also extended economic sanctions on Russia for six months.
In the midst of the current crisis in Ukraine, on February 22, both the United States and the EU have imposed new sanctions against Russia, for the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist republics of Donbas (Donetsk and Lugansk), located in the east of Ukraine and order the dispatch of troops.
In an extensive list of sanctioned personalities there are twenty from the political, military, business and media sphere closest to President Putin.
Ukraine asks the West for more sanctions against Russia to prevent Putin from continuing the aggression against that country.
Source: Gestion
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
