Ukraine’s western allies unveiled new sanctions targeting Russia’s military, industrial capacity and financial sector as they vowed to step up pressure on Vladimir Putin.
As Ukraine marked the first anniversary of the invasion on Friday, Britain and the US announced new measures against hundreds of groups and individuals including Russian banks and defense companies, while the European Union and Japan prepared their own sanctions on Moscow’s war economy.
G7 leaders will hold a virtual summit with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
“We must keep giving Ukraine the means to defend itself until Russia ends this war and leaves Ukraine,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, on a visit to Estonia.
The White House said the US sanctions would target more than 200 entities and people from Russia and countries in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including China.
The measures, which Washington says are intended to “further damage Russia’s economy and reduce its ability to wage war against Ukraine”, include 12 Russian financial institutions and actors linked to Russian defense groups.
The commerce department will also add nearly 90 companies from Russia, China and other countries to its “entity list” – a blacklist that effectively prevents it from buying US technology for potential use in Russia’s defense sector. The White House said the blacklist would prevent the group from acquiring semiconductors made with U.S. technology.
The Pentagon is due to release $2 billion in aid to Ukraine, including unmanned aerial systems, counter-unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare detection equipment and ammunition for artillery and rocket systems.
“One year later, Ukraine’s brave defenders have not wavered, nor are they committed to supporting them for much longer,” said US defense secretary Lloyd Austin.
In another international move, Britain imposed sanctions on senior executives at Russia’s state nuclear power company Rosatom, the country’s two largest defense groups, and four banks including MTS, which this month obtained a license to operate in the UAE.
In Brussels, EU ambassadors sought on Friday morning to complete the 10th round of sanctions on Russia, a package set to include exports of electronic components used in Russian systems including drones, missiles and helicopters.
The EU also wants to ban the transit of goods and technology through Russia that could be adapted for military use, as part of efforts to break sanctions.
Japan is also preparing a new package of sanctions against Moscow, prime minister Fumio Kishida told reporters ahead of the virtual G7 summit.
“To stop the invasion of Russia, it is important for the G7 … to confirm at today’s conference that we will continue to maintain and strengthen sanctions against Russia and support for Ukraine,” Kishida said, without disclosing the details of additional measures Japan has prepared.
The White House said G7 leaders would create an “enforcement coordination mechanism” to keep pressure on Russia as it continues its military campaign in Ukraine.
The mechanism is designed to ensure that Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. The White House said the G7 countries would keep Russia’s sovereign assets “immobilized” until there is a resolution to the conflict that addresses “violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity”.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington, Kana Inagaki in Tokyo and Maxine Kelly in London