Reward for Ukraine and ‘sanctions’ on Russia: American messages to both sides of the war

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Committed to preventing Russia from winning the war in Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden gifted new aid to Kyiv, while his country announced sanctions on Moscow.

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The United States sent multiple messages to both sides of the conflict with these decisions, renewing its support for Ukraine every step of the way, and confirming the commitments made by President Joe Biden and his G7 counterparts to “disrupt Russian supply chains.”

What do we know about U.S. aid to Ukraine?

On the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, U.S. President Joe Biden made a phone call to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, announcing new military aid to Kyiv to face the Russian military operation.

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Biden said in the statement published by the White House on Friday: “I am proud to announce today a new package of military assistance to Ukraine.”
He confirmed that the new package includes “air defense missiles to protect vital Ukrainian infrastructure, anti-drone equipment, anti-tank missiles to counter Russia’s shifting tactics on the battlefield, ammunition for frontline soldiers, and mobile missile systems to protect them.”

Biden added: “Russia will not win this conflict. The independent people of Ukraine will triumph – and the United States, along with our allies and partners, will continue to support them every step of the way.”

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The U.S. Department of Defense said the package is worth $125 million and consists of items taken from U.S. stockpiles, providing Kyiv with “additional capabilities to meet its most urgent needs.”

Zelensky thanked Biden for the new aid package, stressing on the platform “X” (formerly Twitter) Ukraine’s urgent need to receive “the announced weapons, especially additional air defenses, to reliably protect our cities, communities, and vital infrastructure.”

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The United States is Ukraine’s main military backer, having pledged more than $55 billion in weapons, ammunition, and other security aid since Russia started the war in February 2022.

This new aid announcement comes as Ukrainian forces launch an attack on the Kursk region in western Russia, the most significant assault by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

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Sanctions on Russia

Along with the aid announcement, the U.S. sanctioned 400 entities and individuals in Russia and abroad, including around sixty defense technology companies providing “their products and services to Russia, supporting its war effort” in Ukraine.

These measures, announced by the U.S. Departments of Treasury, State, and Commerce, add to the existing sanctions on Russia due to the military operation that has entered its third year.

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Wally Adeyemo, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement: “Russia has put its economy in service of the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex.”
He added that “the Treasury’s decisions today aim to reaffirm the commitments made by President Biden and his G7 counterparts to disrupt Russian supply chains.”

Among the companies sanctioned are 60 defense and technology companies based in Russia, “crucial for sustaining and developing Russia’s defense industry.”

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Strict measures

Along with the sanctions announced on Friday, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared that it is taking “strict measures” to impose further restrictions on the supply of U.S.-made parts to both Russia and Belarus due to the “Kremlin’s war on Ukraine.”

In a statement, the department said that “today’s measures will further restrict Russia’s ability to arm its military by targeting illegal procurement networks designed to circumvent global export controls.”

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These measures particularly target the “Arctic LNG-2” project, a liquefied natural gas station with an announced goal of producing about 20 million tons annually, as well as a planned project in Yakutia, in the far east of Russia, which is expected to produce about 18 million tons annually.

These sanctions freeze the assets owned directly or indirectly by the targeted individuals and companies in the United States, and prohibit any American individual or company from dealing with them under threat of sanctions. All those targeted are also banned from entering the United States.