WASHINGTON, March 2 – The United States on Wednesday targeted Russia’s oil refining sector with new export restrictions and targeted Belarus with radical new export restrictions as the Biden administration stepped up repression against Moscow and Minsk over Ukraine’s invasion. .
A new round of sanctions announced by the White House bans the export of specific refining technologies, making it difficult for Russia to modernize its oil refineries.
The White House also applied a wide range of export restrictions imposed on Russia to Russia last month, saying controls would help prevent the diversion of items, including technology and software, to Russia’s defense, aerospace and maritime sectors through Belarus. .
“The United States will take action to hold Belarus responsible for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, weaken Russia’s defense sector and its military might for years to come, target Russia’s most important sources of wealth and ban Russian airlines. from US airspace, “the White House said.
The European Union has also approved new sanctions against Belarus for its supporting role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, effectively banning about 70% of all imports from the country, the EU said on Wednesday. Read more
The United States has steadily increased sanctions against Moscow since Putin launched the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Belarus has allowed Russian troops to use its territory as a base for the attack.
The Commerce Department, which oversees U.S. export controls, also said it was adding to its trade blacklist entities with ties to the Russian and Belarusian military and defense sectors, making it much harder for them to import US technology.
In detailed documentation of the new restrictions on Belarus, the United States said it would allow the sale of mobile phones and software to consumers in Belarus, but not to President Alexander Lukashenko, his intelligence headquarters, the Belarusian military and members of state media. and other civil servants.
The U.S. State Department will also impose sanctions on 22 Russian defense organizations, including companies that make fighter jets and missiles for the country’s army, to “further limit Putin’s military machine,” the White House said.
Details of the measures and objectives of the sanctions were not immediately available.
HIT ON ENERGY SUPPLY
With the exception of some measures targeting Russia’s state-owned gas company Gazprom, the Biden administration has largely refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia’s energy sector, worried that such measures could raise already high energy prices.
Oil rose relentlessly above $ 110 a barrel on Wednesday in response to the flow of sales of Russian oil assets from large companies and expectations that the market will remain short of supply in the coming months.
“The United States and our allies and partners have no strategic interest in reducing global energy supply – which is why we have separated energy payments from our financial sanctions,” the White House said.
“But we and our allies and partners share a strong interest in deteriorating Russia’s status as a leading energy supplier over time.”
Russia exports between 2 million and 3 million barrels of refined products a day, making it one of the world’s largest exporters of fuels. The country has about 5.5 million barrels of crude oil refining capacity, according to the US Department of Energy, citing data from the Oil & Gas Journal.
Russia’s invasion has not yet achieved its goal of overthrowing Ukraine’s government, but has sent more than 870,000 people fleeing to neighboring countries and shaking the global economy as governments and companies build to isolate Moscow. Read more
Report by Alexandra Alper and Doina Chiaku; Additional reports by Daphne Psaledakis; Edited by Nick Zieminski and Stephen Coates
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