These include sanctions against the Kremlin spokesman.
March 3, 2022, 11:35 p.m.
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The United States on Thursday announced new sanctions against members of Russia’s elite, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, and said it would block 19 oligarchs and 47 of their relatives from traveling to the United States.
Among the targets of the sanctions are Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and one of Russia’s richest men, Alisher Usmanov, according to the White House.
Russian President Vladimir Putin shook hands with Russian businessman and founder of USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov, November 27, 2018, during an award ceremony at the Kremlin in Moscow.
Germany had already confiscated Usmanov’s superyacht, and the White House said both Usmanov’s boat and his private jet – which he said was one of Russia’s largest private jets – would be blocked for use in the United States or by Americans.
Dilbar, a luxury yacht owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, sails on the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey, May 29, 2019.
“These are significant steps that will affect people who are close to President Putin,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters. “We want him to feel the pressure. We want the people around him to feel the pressure. “
Russian President Dmitry Peskov’s spokesman attended the 24th International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg at the ExpoForum Congress and Exhibition Center in St. Petersburg, Russia.
President Joe Biden touched on recent US actions against Russia at the beginning of the fourth meeting of his administration’s cabinet, saying the steps his administration and its allies have already taken have a “profound impact”.
Biden said that the sanctioned Russian oligarchs “fill their pockets with the money of the Russian people and while Ukraine and the people hide in the subways of missiles that are fired indiscriminately from Russian cities.”
President Joe Biden speaks at a White House cabinet meeting on March 3, 2022, in Washington, DC
In a press release, the finance ministry said the State Department had stepped up pressure on Russia by “sanctioning many Russian elites and their families, identifying certain properties of those individuals as blocked and sanctioning Russian intelligence-targeted disinformation.” “.
It says the sanctioned elites have provided direct and indirect support to the Russian government through their business empires, wealth and other resources. “The help of these people, members of their families and other key elites allows President Vladimir Putin to continue to lead the ongoing, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” the statement said.
He describes Usmanov as one of Russia’s richest billionaires with huge stakes in many sectors of the Russian economy, as well as internationally.
“Usmanov’s ties with the Kremlin enrich him and enable his luxurious lifestyle. Proof of his wealth, Usmanov owns one of the largest superyachts in the world, known as Dilbar … named after Usmanov’s mother … It is estimated that the value of this superyacht is between 600 and 735 million dollars. Dilbar has two helipads and one of the largest indoor pools in the world ever installed on a yacht. The estimated cost of running Dilbar is $ 60 million a year, “said the Treasury Department.
A press release from the US Treasury Department included a photo of the private plane of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, which was sanctioned by the US, March 3, 2022.
Usmanov’s plane, an Airbus A340-300, is estimated to cost between $ 350m and $ 500m.
Shortly after arriving in Brussels for all-day meetings Thursday with NATO, G7 and European Union partners, among other allies, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken assessed the new sanctions.
“These actions clearly show that there is no place to hide individuals and legal entities that support Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,” he said in a statement.
The statement also said the State Department was imposing significant costs on Russian defense companies by sanctioning 22 defense-related companies. “These comprehensive sanctions are aimed at entities that develop and manufacture fighters, infantry fighting vehicles, e-war systems, missiles and drones for the Russian military. These sanctions are at the heart of Putin’s military machine,” he said.
Conor Finegan of ABC News contributed to this report.