US targets almost 100 Russians and suppliers with new sanctions

The Biden administration announced almost 100 fresh sanctions on Russia’s elites, its financial institutions and its supply chains, in a major new effort to squeeze President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.

While most of those sanctioned were Russian companies and people, the new round of sanctions also hits targets including a Finland-based network that ships foreign electronics to Russia and two Turkish companies that are linked to shipments of equipment used to make drones and cruise missiles for the war in Ukraine.

“With today’s sanctions, the United States is continuing our relentless work to target Russia’s military supply chains and deprive Putin of the equipment, technology, and services he needs to wage his barbaric war on Ukraine,”  Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

The move is the latest bid by the Biden administration to cripple Putin’s ability to wage war in Ukraine by targeting both the companies that make the weapons and materiel sent to the front lines as well as those that boost the economy back home. 

Those efforts have had mixed success so far. Putin has had to turn to isolated nations such as North Korea for ammunition supplies, according to the US, and his forces have lost ground claimed in the early days of the invasion launched in February of last year. 

At the same time, Russia’s economy expanded 4.9% in the second quarter and Putin has managed to arrest a recent slide in the ruble. Increased defense spending has boosted industrial production while consumer demand is gaining momentum amid greater outlays on social support and higher wages. 

One target is rail conglomerate Transmashholding JSC and its president, Andrei Bokarev. The company’s recent operations show how Russia has had to cannibalize domestic manufacturing to support the war, blurring the line between the civilian and military industries, the US says.

Transmashholding is one of the world’s largest makers of trains and rail equipment, with $1.4 billion in revenue in 2021 and contracts in countries including India and Egypt. Following the invasion, the company started making parts for infantry combat vehicles, according to the Treasury.

Also sanctioned were companies in Russia’s automobile, construction, and oil and gas sectors.