The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on an array of Russian oligarchs and the Kremlin spokesman, the White House said, as Washington takes aim at those close to Russian President Vladimir Putin in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States imposed full blocking sanctions on several oligarchs and officials, as well as some of their companies, the White House said. Those designated include Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov, the founder of Russian mining company Metalloinvest, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The United States will also impose visa restrictions on 19 Russian oligarchs, their family members and associates, the White House said in a statement, and will also issue sanctions against Russian entities and individuals who enable the country’s spread of disinformation.
“We want him (Putin) to feel the squeeze, we want the people around him to feel the squeeze,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.
Washington has so far imposed several rounds of sanctions, including against Putin and the central bank, after Russia’s forces invaded Ukraine in the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two. Moscow calls the assault a “special operation.”
