After Russian forces entered Ukraine from Belarus which is about 20 miles from the capital Kyiv and launched multiple attacks on major cities resulting in both military and civilian casualties, a number of sanctions have already been announced by Western powers against Russia, in an attempt to compel President Vladimir Putin to take urgent steps towards deescalating the conflict.
The sanctions target different areas, hitting specific financial institutions, Russia’s capacity to raise sovereign debt on international markets as well as several individuals, but analysts say that the measures fall short of the options available and may not have much impact.
Below is a list of sanctions announced against Russia so far:
EU
The 27-member bloc unanimously announced on Tuesday initial sanctions aimed at the 351 Russian politicians who voted for recognising the two separatist regions in Ukraine, as well as 27 other Russian officials and institutions from the defence and banking sectors. They also sought to limit Moscow’s access to EU capital and financial markets.
US
US President Joe Biden has announced economic sanctions on Russia following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, sanctioning and freezing Russian banks that together hold around $1 trillion in assets, including state-owned VEB and Promsvyazbank, in what he calls the first tranche of sanctions.
Canada
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also announced sanctions against 58 Russian individuals and entities in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, which he called “a massive threat to security and peace around the world.”
These sanctions will target members of the Russian elite and their families, security officials, the Wagner group — a private military company — as well as Russian banks, he said, adding that Canada was also cancelling export permits for Russia.
UK
Britain’s foreign office on Thursday imposed 50,000 pound limit on Russian nationals’ deposits in UK Banks. This means that Russian nationals will not be allowed to have deposits of more than 50,000 pounds ($66,860) at British banks.
Three Russian billionaires affected by the sanction include Gennady Timchenko, Boris Rotenberg and Igor Rotenberg. The Rotenbergs are co-owners of SGM Group, which makes oil and gas infrastructure. Timchenko is the owner of private investment firm Volga Group.
In addition, five Russian banks have also been excluded from London’s financial system as part of further sanctions and the UK has banned ban Russia’s Aeroflot and prohibited all dual use export
Ukraine
Ukraine’s parliament has approved imposing sanctions on 351 Russians, including lawmakers who supported the recognition of the independence of separatist-controlled territories and the use of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.
The sanctions restrict almost all possible types of activities, in particular a ban on entry into Ukraine, prohibit access to assets, capital, property, licenses for business.
Germany
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the halting of the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia – a Baltic Sea gas pipeline which connects mainland Russia with Germany. The deal has been long sought by Moscow but criticised by the US for increasing Europe’s reliance on Russian energy.
Australia
Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced the imposition of penalties on Russia’s Security Council for “behaving like thugs and bullies” in connection with the aggression against Ukraine.
Japan
Japan says it will announce its sanctions on Russia Friday in the areas of finance and export controls. Japan’s sanctions will include banning the issuance of Russian bonds in Japan and freezing the assets of certain Russian individuals as well as restricting travel to Japan, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.