The Joe Biden Government's favorite word when announcing sanctions against Russia is “devastating”. Today, the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine and with the death of the Russian dissident leader, Alexei Navalny, still recent, Washington has once again used the magic word to explain that it has sanctioned 500 Russian people and entities. As is usual, the impact of the sanctions will be, at least in the short term, minimal.
At least, Biden's measures do not have the surreally symbolic nature of those imposed by Rishi Sunak's British Government on six jailers at the prison where Navalny died, and which include the freezing of his deposits and assets in the United Kingdom and the ban on travel to that country. At first glance, the chances of two colonels and four lieutenant colonels in the Russian Army who run a “penal colony” in the Arctic going to London to shop or to watch the Wimbledon tournament seem slim.
The details of the sanctions imposed by the United States have not yet been made public, but they extend to senior officials in both the Russian political apparatus and the private sector.. They also include companies that are not linked to the defense sector, as the increasing militarization of the Russian economy makes it increasingly difficult to distinguish between manufacturers of military and civilian equipment.. It is possible that the measures will also impact entities of US allies, such as India and Turkey, which continue to trade with Russia and are one of the lifelines of that country's economy.
Two years after the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “We have become war junkies”
Vladimir Putin bets everything on war
In general, the sanctions have failed due to the attitude of Western companies, especially European ones, which instead of exporting directly to Russia do so through third countries, such as Georgia or Kyrgyzstan.. Russian oil is transported on ships chartered by Greek shipowners, and there have even been Western companies that have insured these shipments..
The Russian economy recovered in 2023 the GDP it had before the invasion of Ukraine, although its growth is hardly sustainable over time given that it is based on unleashed public spending and currency reserves that are collapsing..