US announces new vetoes to Russia and Belarus.| Photo: Saul Loeb/AFP
)The United States announced, this Wednesday (2), new sanctions against 22 entities related to the Russian defense sector and restrictions on the export of technology that Russia can use to refine oil. The US Commerce Department also extended to Belarus the export controls it imposed on Russia in order to “significantly degrade” Minsk’s ability to support the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
At 22 sanctioned Russian entities are related to the Russian defense sector and among them are companies that manufacture aircraft and combat vehicles, electronic systems, missiles and drones for the Russian military, according to the White House. To weaken Russia’s status as a global energy supplier without excessively affecting global markets, the US Commerce Department also decided to restrict technology exports that could benefit “Russian ability to refine (petroleum) in the long term”.
30083639″This will severely limit the ability of Russia and Belarus to obtain materials needed to support its military aggression against Ukraine,” the White House statement said. As of Wednesday, the US is barred from exporting any material that could “support the defense, maritime and aerospace industries” from Belarus.