U.S. expands Russia sanctions for Ukraine aggression

The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Sept. 1 that it has expanded its list of Russian and Ukrainian companies and individuals subject to sanctions in order to target sanctions evasion and other activities related to the conflict in Ukraine. The specially designated nationals list was widened by 17 individuals, many of which are leaders of the self-declared republics. The sectoral sanctions identifications list of companies was expanded by more than 100 companies, some of which are involved a project to build a bridge across the Kerch Strait, linking the Crimean peninsula with the Russian mainland.

In response to the widened U.S. sanctions, Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the government will analyze what has been expanded, and in what volumes. “But traditionally, the principle of reciprocity is key, which we will uphold,” he said.

An EU committee will meet next week to review extending sanctions against 146 individuals and 37 companies from Russia and Ukraine for violating Ukraine’s territorial integrity, reported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on Sept. 1, citing anonymous sources in the EU. The decision to extend sanctions by six months must be reached by Sept. 15, when they expire, the report said.

The Russian Armed Forces are planning to increase their military presence in occupied Donbas by a third, as well as dispatching tens of thousands of more military personnel to Crimea, Ukrainian Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Viktor Muzhenko told the thetimes.co.uk news site in an interview published on Sept. 1. “We’re not talking about weak and uncontrolled groups of fighters,” he said. “We’re talking about a military hierarchy with clear systems of command and control.”

Zenon Zawada: The latest decision of the U.S. to expand sanctions could be related to Russian President Putin’s success in undermining requested Normandy Format talks at the G-20 summit in Hangzhou, as well as its recently enhanced military presence on Ukraine’s borders. We reiterate our view that Russia will not do anything dramatic until the U.S. presidential elections in November.

We expect the EU will renew its sanctions but debates will heat up this fall in EU legislatures (and their backrooms) to begin to remove them.