President Joe Biden’s administration announced Friday it was expanding sanctions against Russia’s vitally important energy sector, revealing a new effort to torment Moscow over its nearly 3-year-old war in Ukraine as the newly elected President Donald Trump is ready to return to his post. End the fight quickly.
The outgoing Democratic administration billed the new sanctions as their most significant yet against Moscow’s oil and liquefied natural gas sectors, the drivers of Russia’s economy. Officials said the sanctions, which penalize entities doing business with Russians, have the potential to damage the Russian economy by more than billions of dollars per month.
More than 180 oil-carrying ships suspected of being part of a shadow fleet used by the Kremlin to avoid oil sanctions, as well as traders, oilfield service firms and Russian energy officials, are also targeted by the new sanctions. Has been created. According to the Treasury Department, many of the ships targeted were also suspected of shipping sanctioned Iranian oil.
British officials are also announcing supplemental sanctions against Russia’s energy sector on Friday. Both countries are targeting subsidiaries of Russia’s two major oil producers, Gazprom Neft and Surgutneftegas, and dozens of other companies.
“The United States is taking sweeping action against Russia, a major source of revenue to finance its brutal and illegal war against Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement. “With today’s actions, we are increasing the risk of sanctions related to Russia’s oil trade, including shipping and financial facilities in support of Russia’s oil exports.”
Biden administration officials said it will ultimately be up to the Trump administration whether to maintain or eliminate the new restrictions.
Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the sanctions. But Trump told reporters Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin “wants to meet, and we’re setting that up.”
Trump’s cordial relationship with Putin has come under heavy scrutiny over the past few years. The Republican president-elect has also objected to the cost of aid to Kiev and has promised to move quickly to end the conflict when he returns to office on January 20.
Trump added a new layer of doubt about future US support earlier this week when he appeared sympathetic to Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of NATO. The president-elect has criticized the Biden administration for expressing support for Kiev’s eventual membership in the transatlantic military alliance.
The Kremlin issued new sanctions on Friday ahead of the anticipated announcement.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “We know that the administration will try to leave as difficult a legacy as possible in bilateral relations for Trump and his team.”
The designation comes under sanctions authority approved during Russia’s 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, according to administration officials who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House.
Officials said if the Trump administration moves to roll back the sanctions, it would first have to notify Congress, which has the ability to take a vote of disapproval on such a move.
The Biden administration unveiled a new $500 million military aid package on Thursday as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
Zelensky was scheduled to meet with Biden in Italy on Friday, but Biden canceled his plans to travel abroad so he could remain in Washington to help oversee the federal response to the Los Angeles wildfires.
Trump earlier this week expressed concern over the loss of life during the conflict, also arguing that “this war would never have happened” if he were president.