Home ›› 21 May 2023 ›› World Politics
The Group of Seven advanced economies are expected to announce a new set of sanctions against Russia to try to further hinder its war effort in Ukraine during their summit in Hiroshima, Japan.
In traveling to Japan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will help to drive home the need to better enforce measures meant to stifle Moscow’s war machine.
Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about their effectiveness. EU Council President Charles Michel said the plan was to close loopholes and ensure the sanctions are painful for Russia, not for the countries enforcing them.
Here’s a look at what may be next, the sanctions so far, and the impact they have had on Russia’s economy and military effort.
What the G7 might do
Michel said the 27-nation EU was focused on “shutting the door on loopholes and continuing to cut Russia off from critical supplies.” It is working on a plan to restrict trade in Russian diamonds and trace the trade to prevent Russia from skirting the restrictions.
Russia exports about $4 billion worth of rough diamonds a year, nearly a third of the world’s total, and the lion’s share are cut and polished in India.
The new sanctions follow an online summit in February where G7 leaders pledged to intensify enforcement through their sanctions watchdog Enforcement Coordination Mechanism to improve information sharing and enforcement. It has pledged to impose “severe costs” on other countries that evade or undermine them.
“We will starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said.
What G7 and other Western nations have done so far
The list is long and growing longer. On Friday, the United Kingdom announced new sanctions targeting Russian seizures of Ukrainian grain, advanced military technology and Moscow’s remaining revenue sources. It froze assets of 86 more individuals and entities including companies connected to Rosatom that support President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
Russian sovereign assets will stay frozen until “Russia agrees to pay for the damage it has caused in Ukraine,” the British Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said in a statement.
The US began by targeting members of Putin’s inner circle and their families and banks considered crucial to the Kremlin and Russia’s military. The US also moved to limit Russia’s power to raise money abroad.
Sanctions are imposed on individuals listed on a Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List through the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control. The list has expanded to include people and companies around the globe allegedly involved in supporting Russia’s military.
On Friday, the Department of State announced new sanctions on more than 200 entities, individuals, vessels and aircraft, targeting Russia’s energy, military, technology, and metals and mining sectors. They also focused on entities and people involved in unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children and seizures of Ukrainian grain.
The EU has enforced sanctions largely in line with those imposed by the US, Britain and Canada. Since all 27 of its members must agree unanimously, the process can be a bit slower, officials say.
The EU has imposed 10 rounds of sanctions on Russia since President Vladimir Putin ordered his forces into Ukraine on February 24. Banks, companies and the energy sector have been hit. Well over 1,000 officials are subject to asset freezes and travel bans.
Japan stepped up its sanctions in February, freezing assets of Russians and Russian companies and suspending visas for some. It froze the assets of some financial institutions and banned exports of items that can be used for military purposes, dual-use goods, some commodities and semiconductors.
Canada has sanctioned dozens of Russians and Russian companies, including leaders of Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom and six energy sector entities.
