US tightens Russia sanctions for second time in a week: key targets revealed

The United States has significantly tightened sanctions against Russia for the second time in a week. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the new sanctions aim to dismantle schemes designed to bypass previous restrictions.

The Treasury Department has reimposed sanctions on nearly 100 entities across three main sectors:

- Financial sector: including major Russian banks such as Sberbank, VTB Bank, Gazprombank, Alfa-Bank, the Moscow Exchange, and the National Payment Card System (operator of the Mir payment system). - Energy sector: targeting companies involved in oil, gas, and coal, such as Severstal, JSC Suek (Russia's largest coal company), Mechel, Arktik SPG 1, and Arctic LNG-2. - Defense industry: covering arms manufacturers, ammunition producers, and military equipment companies, including Rostec, United Aircraft Corporation, United Engine Corporation, KamAZ, and PJSC Yakovlev.

Any foreign individual or financial institution knowingly conducting significant transactions with these entities will now face mandatory secondary sanctions.

In addition, the U.S. State Department has imposed sanctions on 150 entities and individuals. These sanctions target companies across multiple countries, particularly in China, which remains the largest supplier of dual-use goods and a significant facilitator of Russian sanctions evasion to support its war efforts.

Among the sanctioned are the Russian state-created FSUE Zaporozhskaya NPP, established to operate Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under occupation, and its director Vladislav Isaev.

Sanctions also target Kyrgyzstan's Keremet Bank, which has been used by Russian entities as a hub for processing import payments and receiving export revenues.

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