President Joe Biden said the measures aim to ensure Russian President Vladimir Putin “pays an even steeper price for his aggression abroad and repression at home.”
The Biden administration is seeking to continue supporting Ukraine as the country faces acute shortages of ammunition, with the approval of more U.S. military aid delayed for months in the U.S. Congress. The European Union, Britain and Canada also took action against Russia on Friday. But former senior Treasury official Ben Harris said the magnitude of the sanctions imposed by the United States alone was formidable.
The United States also targeted Russia’s future energy production and exports, taking further aim at the Arctic LNG 2 project in Siberia. In November, Washington imposed sanctions on a major entity involved in the massive project.