The US announced a slate of new sanctions against Russia on Sunday, cutting off Kremlin-controlled media outlets from American advertisers and prohibiting the country from using US-provided management and accounting consulting services, according to a senior administration official and a White House fact sheet.
President Joe Biden and the leaders of the G-7 met virtually with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday to discuss further actions the US and its allies are taking to punish Russia for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. The announcement also included new export controls against the Russian industrial sector and roughly 2,600 visa restrictions on Russian and Belarusian officials, as well as the first sanctions against executives of Gazprombank, the institution through which most of Europe buys Russian gas.
“Preventing Russia from accessing the United States’ valuable professional services increases the pressure on the Kremlin and cuts off its ability to evade sanctions imposed by the United States and our partners,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “We are also targeting Putin’s ability to generate revenue that enables his aggression, as well as entities and their leaders who support his destructive actions.”
The raft of US and Western sanctions imposed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year has pushed the Russian economy into a deep recession as it makes the difficult transition to becoming a closed economy.
“This is already a failure for Putin, and we’re going to continue to honor the brave fighting that’s taking place by Ukraine’s people and listen to President Zelensky and recommit to staying the course,” the senior administration official told reporters ahead of the President’s meeting Sunday with G-7 leaders and Zelensky.
The official added that the call would also highlight how Russian President Vladimir Putin is “dishonoring” the sacrifices made by Soviet Russian citizens, millions of whom sacrificed their lives to defeat fascism during World War II.
