Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, many countries have adopted a series of sanctions aimed at further isolating Moscow, which on Wednesday accused the United States of waging an “economic war” against it and meanwhile took various measures in retaliation. .

14 days after the start of the Russian offensive in the former Soviet republic, summary of the main sanctions implemented so far:

hydrocarbon

US President Joe Biden on Tuesday announced an embargo on imports of Russian oil, natural gas and coal, despite resistance from his allies in the European Union (EU), which covers 40% of his needs for natural gas and 30% oil. from Russia. From London, the British Government alternately announced that it would stop importing Russian oil and oil derivatives by the end of 2022. In response to the sanctions, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to limit or prohibit the import and export of products worldwide. 2022. and Russian raw materials that will appear on the list to be determined by the Government.

Financial system

The European Union countries excluded seven Russian banks from Swift’s financial transaction system, a measure that will take effect from March 12 and exclude Sberbank, the country’s largest bank, and Gazprombank, through which payments for European imports are processed Russian oil and gas. The Ukrainian government strongly urged that the entire Russian financial system be cut off from Swift’s system, but European countries rejected it because it would have a direct impact on their financial system. In addition, international credit cards Visa, Mastercard and American Express suspended their activities in Russia, while the World Bank announced that it was finalizing the immediate suspension of all its aid programs in Russia and Belarus.

Airspace and transportation

The United States, Canada and several European countries, such as Britain, Norway, Switzerland and Iceland, have closed their airspace to Russian aircraft, a move the Kremlin has countered. Russian airlines have suspended international flights since Tuesday over concerns that their planes will be impounded overseas due to sanctions. Aeroflot – Russia’s largest airline – has suspended its international operations, with the exception of flights to Minsk, Belarus. The UK has also included shipping and ordered port authorities to block any vessels believed to be owned, controlled, chartered or operated by anyone connected to Russia or by sanctioned individuals. Meanwhile, German logistics company DHL, one of the world’s largest, suspended shipments to Russia and Belarus.

Company

Dutch brewer Heineken, television company Discovery and Universal Music Group today joined the exodus of companies initiated by nearly 300 transnational companies that decided to suspend operations in Russia, including America’s McDonald’s, Starbucks and Coca-Cola. Among those who have previously joined the suspension of production at their plants in Russia are German carmaker Mercedes-Benz and Japan’s Toyota, while Swedish truck manufacturer Volvo Group has announced a halt to assembly line production in the country. and selling their products there.

Media

The European Union decided to ban the broadcast on its territory of Russian state media such as Russia Today (RT) and the Sputnik news agency, in all formats, radio, television or internet. Facebook (Meta) and YouTube (Google) also announced their decision to block publication of this media in Europe.

In addition, the technology giant Google Discover and the service Google News restrict the viewing of publications from all the resources of the Russian international information agency Rossiya Segodnya, which is owned by Sputnik. Putin, for his part, signed a law last week that provides for up to 15 years in prison for spreading information aimed at “discrediting” military forces and also punishes any request for sanctions against Moscow. As a result of this action, a large number of international media outlets announced that they had temporarily suspended their coverage from Russia, such as the BBC, CNN, The New York Times, RAI, Radio France or the agency EFE.

against people

The United States and the European Union froze the assets of Putin and his Foreign Minister, Serguei Lavrov, in addition to sanctioning a number of Russian millionaires and their relatives for their support of the Russian president, whose assets were frozen and their access to the financial system blocked.

Sport

In recent weeks, a series of sanctions have been imposed in competitions and tournaments, the harshest of which was Russia’s exclusion from the Qatar 2022 World Cup, days after the European Union from the European Football Association (UEFA) decided to remove the country. the venue for the Champions League final, scheduled for May 28 in St. Petersburg. Also international athletics, tennis, basketball, volleyball, rugby federation and the World Boxing Council (WBC) followed the same path and left Russia out of competition.