By : Biden calls for Russia to be expelled from G-20 as U.S. unveils new sanctions on Moscow
President Joe Biden’s administration on Thursday rolled out more sanctions against Russia in response to the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, with the White House saying the U.S. now has sanctioned more than 600 Russian targets.
The new sanctions include measures against 48 large Russian state-owned enterprises that are part of that country’s defense-industrial base and produce weapons that have been used in the invasion, the White House said in a statement. Among those enterprises are Tactical Missiles Corporation, High Precision Systems, NPK Tekhmash OAO, Kronshtadt and Russian Helicopters.
The additional measures also are aimed at 328 Duma members and the Duma as an entity, the White House said, referring to the lower chamber of Russia’s legislative body.
In addition, the latest sanctions target Herman Oskarovich Gref — the head of Russia’s largest financial institution, Sberbank , and a longtime adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin — as well as 17 members of Sovcombank’s board, oligarch Gennady Timchenko, Timchenko’s companies and his family members.
The U.S. Treasury Department issued new guidance on gold
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transactions, saying in a statement that this move should blunt the Russian central bank’s ability to deploy international reserves — and make it clear that “any transaction involving gold
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related to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation is covered by existing sanctions.”
The Biden administration had signaled earlier in the week that more sanctions would be rolled out during the president’s trip to Europe, saying the new measures would target individuals and entities. Biden and other NATO leaders met on Thursday morning in Brussels, and that’s being followed by a G7 summit and a summit with European Union leaders. The president is slated to hold a press conference after the meetings.
“Today’s establishment of four new battle groups in Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary is a strong signal that we will collectively defend and protect every inch of NATO territory,” Biden said in a statement that was released following the NATO meeting.
Related: Biden, Western allies begin first of three summits on Russian war in Ukraine
On Thursday, the administration announced new humanitarian aid as well, saying the U.S. is ready to provide more than $1 billion in additional funding for food, shelter, clean water, medical supplies and other forms of assistance to Ukraine. There are also will be “an additional $320 million in democracy and human rights funding to Ukraine andits neighbors,” the White House statement said.
U.S. stocks
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+0.93%
DJIA,
+0.64%
advanced Thursday as traders tracked the discussions of Western leaders about Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
