Diplomacy
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow sent out another message urging Americans to leave the country immediately, noting that dual nationals could be prevented from leaving due to the mobilization.
Sanctions
The EU announced it would impose new sanctions on Russia, including sanctions on additional individuals and entities, import and export bans, bans on additional services, the legal basis for an Russian oil price cap, and stepped-up sanctions enforcement. The EU is also considering banning shipping of Russian oil sold above a certain threshold as part of its price cap. Greek companies are the world’s largest owners of oil tankers.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee advanced S. 4930, the Federal Contracting for Peace and Security Act, which would ban federal contractors from working with Russia.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing titled “Keeping the Pressure on Russia and its Enablers: Examining the Reach of and Next Steps for U.S. Sanctions” in which Biden Administration officials promised that more sanctions would be coming.
Consequences
The U.S. and EU are increasingly pointing at Russia as being responsible for the sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines. Sweden says it found four leaks, not three as originally reported, and Germany believes the pipelines are likely out of commission forever due to salt water corrosion. Gazprom, meanwhile, is threatening to cut off gas flows through Ukraine due to a continued payment dispute with Ukraine’s Naftogaz.
TotalEnergies says its cash flows from Russian assets may dry up in the coming months. Apple removed Russian social media giant VK from the App Store.
Gibraltar sold a superyacht belonging to a sanctioned Russian oligarch for $37.5 million. Funds raised will compensate creditors.
Ukraine Sitrep
Russian President Vladimir Putin may be postponing plans to address the nation following the referenda on joining Russia. Israel, which has attempted to facilitate a peace agreement early on and has generally tried to be neutral, said it would not recognize the referenda.
The U.S. announced $1.1 billion in additional military assistance, including 18 more HIMARS systems, 150 HMMWVs, transport equipment, counter-UAV systems, and more. However, the U.S. pushed back on reports earlier this week that it has delivered more sophisticated air defense systems, saying the deliveries are two months away.
The U.S. is pressing the EU to speed up and increase its financial support or Ukraine.