The US also focused on technology in its expanded sanctions programme.
Chips and other tech made in the US have been found in downed Russian equipment on Ukraine battlefields, including drones, radios, missiles and armoured vehicles.
The sanctions aim to make it more difficult for companies to supply that tech.
The US will target shell firms in Hong Kong selling chips to Russia.
In addition, software and IT services will also be restricted for sanctioned entities, although the US said its actions “are not intended to disrupt civil society and civil telecommunications”.
Despite the wave of sanctions brought against Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the International Monetary Fund predicts that the country will record economic growth of 3.2% this year.
But analysts say sanctions will eventually make it harder for Moscow to wage its war, and overtime weaken Russia’s economy.
“Russia’s war economy is deeply isolated from the international financial system, leaving the Kremlin’s military desperate for access to the outside world,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.
“Today’s actions strike at their remaining avenues for international materials and equipment, including their reliance on critical supplies from third countries,” she added.
Credit: Source link
