The United States and the European Union have announced a new set of sanctions against Russia’s ongoing military actions targeting a variety of entities in several countries, including Turkey, on the eve of the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration announced on Friday that it has placed 93 companies from Russia, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, India and South Korea on the Commerce Department’s “Entity List.”
This action effectively bans US supplies to these companies and intensifies the crackdown on logistical, technological and material support for Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.
Among the newly listed companies are 16 based in Turkey.
The Commerce Department has emphasized that some of these companies are involved in the detour of controlled microelectronics to the Russian military and intelligence services.
Matthew S. Axelrod, assistant secretary of commerce for export enforcement, stated, “With today’s actions, we have now placed more than 900 parties on our Entity List for their role in Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” emphasizing the broad scope of the US response to the conflict.
In parallel to the US efforts, the European Union has also tightened its sanctions regime against Russia. Just earlier this week, the EU adopted its 13th package of sanctions against Ukraine, targeting nearly 200 organizations and individuals accused of supporting Moscow’s military efforts or being involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.
These sanctions not only affect the European continent, but also companies in India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand and one company in Turkey: Yıldız Çip Teknoloji Elektronik Elektrik Bilgisayar Malzemeleri Ticaret Sanayi Limited Şirketi, based in Antalya.
Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, commented on the measures, saying, “We are tightening the screws on Russia’s military and defense sector by restricting its access to key military technology.”
The EU sanctions now cover more than 2,000 individuals and organizations.
Ankara opposes Western sanctions on Moscow even as it has criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago. It has managed to maintain close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv throughout the conflict.
Though Ankara has said the sanctions will not be circumvented on Turkish soil, Washington ramped up pressure last year to halt the transit of dual-use goods that Russia could use on the battlefield and has warned that Turkish banks and companies could be hit by secondary US sanctions.