The U.S. now is looking to target sanctions on Russian industry, a top official said Tuesday.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo, speaking in London, said the U.S. and western allies are “planning to target additional sectors that are critical to the Kremlin’s ability to operate its war machine, where a loss of access will ultimately undermine Russia’s ability to build and maintain the tools of war that rely on these inputs. In addition to sanctioning companies in sectors that enable the Kremlin’s malign activities, we also plan to take actions to disrupt their critical supply chains.”
The package of sanctions already imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have led to the fastest contraction in the Russian economy since the det crisis of 1998. Russia’s central bank has had to double interest rates.
“The truth is that this transformation will weaken the Russian economy while leaving the Kremlin with fewer resources to pursue its aggressive and autocratic agenda in the future,” said Adeyemo.
Officials from Russia and Ukraine are meeting in Turkey to discuss efforts to end the war. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country would consider neutrality as well as compromise over the eastern region of Donbas.
