Washington's new anti-Russian sanctions become effective

The extended sanctions list includes:

- seven persons and six companies that have shied away from the sanctions imposed (including those associated with G. Timchenko, B. Rotenberg, as well as weapons manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern);

- two Russian companies that are involved in the military industrial complex of the Russian Federation;

- four former Ukrainian officials and their supporters, who are involved in the embezzlement of state assets and abuse of power;

- CJSC MAKO Holding, affiliated with Oleksandr Yanukovych (the elder son of the fourth ex-President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych);

- five operators of Crimean ports and one Crimean ferry operator;

- 35 companies controlled by the persons that were previously included into the sanctions list, as well as those companies with more than 50% of capital being controlled by Russian Vnesheconombank and Rosneft.

"By expanding the list of the sanctions against certain Ukrainian officials of Yanukovych's criminal regime and persons involved in the illegal annexation of Crimea, the United States reaffirms its commitments to earlier imposed sanctions and demonstrates the international coalition's unity in countering Russian aggression in Ukraine," Chaly wrote.

According to him, the United States confirms its readiness to closely monitor, prevent, and promptly eliminate all possible schemes of evading the sanctions, including attempts to circumvent the SWIFT system in operations with companies based in Crimea.

He notes that one of the aims of sanctions expansion is to harmonize the existing restrictions with other members of the international coalition of countries.

The U.S. has imposed several packages of economic sanctions against Russia covering the entire sectors of the Russian economy, as well as sanctions against individuals and entities due to Russia's occupation and annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea, and also its aggression in eastern Ukraine.