The sanctions adopted by Western countries against Russia over the Ukraine War range from an embargo on oil imports to an asset freeze.
Energy
The European Union, which has been widely criticized for failing to cut its Russian oil imports, reached an agreement on Monday to cut most of its purchases by the end of the year, but exempted Hungary.
About 90% of Russian oil exports to the EU will stop, said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The bloc already planned to cut two-thirds of its Russian gas imports by the end of the year and has banned Europeans from making new investments in this sector essential to the Russian economy.
Russian coal purchases will cease in August.
Another symbolic decision is the suspension of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline which was built to increase the volume of Russian gas sold to Germany.
The UK has pledged to halt Russian imports of coal by the end of the year, as well as oil and by-products.
The US government, in turn, announced an embargo on Russian oil and gas imports.
transport
The European Union closed its ports to Russian ships and vetoed the movement of trucks from Russia and Belarus.
The airspace of EU members, as well as the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland, has already been closed to Russian planes and several airlines have suspended their flights to Russia.
The aviation industry is the most affected with the ban on the export of aircraft, spare parts and equipment and the suspension of maintenance on Russian-registered aircraft of giants Airbus and Boeing.
In May, the UK also banned major Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, from selling their vacant slots at airports.
Business
European sanctions provide for the restriction of exports to Russia of cars and luxury goods, such as watches, but also semiconductors and high-tech equipment.
The list of Russian imports banned by EU countries has been expanded to include steel products, cement, rubber and wood products.
Vodka from Russia and high-end seafood were also banned in Europe and the United States.
The two blocs also revoked the trade status of Russia and Belarus, stripping them of the “most favored nation” clause and imposing punitive tariffs on their exports.
Financial sector
After banning Russia from paying its debt with dollars deposited in US banks, the US Treasury in May banned Moscow from paying its debts in dollars, making a default likely.
Washington also imposed a freeze on all of its assets “in contact with the American financial system” on Russia’s main bank, Sberbank.
On Monday, the EU announced the exclusion of this Russian giant from the Swift international banking system, an essential mechanism of international finance that allows for fast and secure communications and transactions.
Before, it had already excluded the country’s main banks from this system.
The United States and the EU, followed by other countries, banned all transactions with the Russian Central Bank and froze their foreign currency assets.
personalities
Hundreds of Russian personalities have been sanctioned, including President Vladimir Putin’s two daughters, who are on the US, EU and UK lists.
On Monday, the EU extended its list to around 60 people, including the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, who is now banned from entering the EU and his assets are frozen.
The Russian president himself is subject to sanctions, as is Belarusian Alexander Lukashenko and the president of Russian state oil company Rosneft, Igor Sechin.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, London claims to have sanctioned over 1,000 people, including oligarchs, and 100 entities.
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