US announces new sanctions targeting Russian elites

The administration of US President Joe Biden has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russian political and business elites, in an effort to further punish Russia for its military operation in Ukraine.

The new round of sanctions were announced by the US on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported. According to a fact sheet from the White House, the Treasury Department will impose sanctions on Sergei Roldugin and his family members. Roldugin, the White House said, is a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a money manager of Putin's offshore wealth.

Also on the sanctions list are the CEO of Imperial Yachts, which the White House said provides services to Putin's inner circle, and the Head of the United Aircraft Corporation, a Russian state-owned company that supports the country's defence industry.

Additionally, the Department of State will sanction a number of Russian individuals, including Maria Zakharova, the Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, and oligarchs God Nisanov and Alexey Mordashov.

Mordashov, whose family members and companies are also being sanctioned, has ties to one of Russia's leading domestic steel producers, the White House said.

Aimed at further limiting the Russian military's ability to obtain technologies and other items needed for sustaining its military operation, the Department of Commerce will add 71 Russia- and Belarus-based entities to the Entity List, "effectively cutting them off from obtaining US-origin items or foreign-made products derived from certain US technology or software," the fact sheet said.

"So far, the United States has added 1,000 parties to Treasury's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List and more than 300 parties have been added to Commerce's Entity List," read the fact sheet. (IANS)

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