LONDON—The United States and its allies plan new sanctions on more sectors of Russia’s economy that are critical to sustaining its invasion of Ukraine, including supply chains, Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday.
Adeyemo, speaking in London on a European trip to consult with allies on strengthening and enforcing sanctions to punish Russia, said the broadening of those efforts was aimed at undermining “the Kremlin’s ability to operate its war machine.”
“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,” Adeyemo told an event at the think tank Chatham House.
“Our goal is to use an integrated approach that includes export controls which will bite over time and sanctions that will bite immediately,” he said, adding they would also target alternative military suppliers used by Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on what he calls a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine.
Since the invasion began on Feb. 24, western allies have frozen Russia’s central bank’s foreign currency assets, banned key Russian banks and wealthy elites from hard currency transactions, and put restrictions on exports of advanced semiconductors and other technology.
The sanctions have stripped the Kremlin of resources and helped to cripple Russia’s economy. Adeyemo said they would stay in place for as long as the invasion continued.
He attributed the success of the sanctions to a strong multilateral effort and the strength of an international economic and financial system built by democratic countries at the end of World War Two, which created institutions including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the precursor to the World Trade Organization.
