US imposes sanctions due to annexation of Crimea
The Trump Administration imposes sanctions against 21 persons and nine companies after Russia’s annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and the ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine. EU and Norway have also imposed sanctions for a long time.
The Ministry of Finance in Washington states that eleven of the 21 persons named are so-called pro-Russian separatists.
This includes the self proclaimed Minister of Finance, Trade, Justice and Security in the so-called People’s Republic of Donetsk and Luhansk in Eastern Ukraine, according to a statement from the United States.
Several Russian officials are also named, among them Russian Deputy Minister of Energy Andrej Tserezov. He has previously been subject to EU sanctions for his role in shipments of turbines to a power station in the Crimean peninsula.
The turbines were manufactured by the German company Siemens and delivered to Russia. Siemens has previously stated that the company was not aware that the equipment was shipped from Russia to the Crimea, and has attempted legal meassures against the Russian state owned energy company that bought them for this reason.
Several companies involved in building infrastructure in the Crimean peninsula are also targeted by the sanctions.
Russia condemns the sanctions
– This absurd campaign of sanction shas not succeeded and will not lead anywhere,” is issued in a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow.
– If US authorities prefer to sever economic ties with Russia, then they are free to do so, just as it justifiable for us to come up with countermeasures, the statement from Kremlin concludes.
Facts about the war in Ukraine and Crimea
The sanctions against Russia have a deteriorating effect on the overall economy of the country , and that it affects Eastern Ukraine, including Crimea the most.
The fighting is at present quite sporadic, and civilians are allowed to cross the front lines to collect their Ukrainian pensions, although it can be a strenuous journey to undertake.
Most Russian speakers (approx. 30% of the population) wants to remain Ukrainians.
Crimea was originally populated by Tatars, deported by Stalin and virtually wiped out as a result.
Until the Crimean war in the 1860’s it belonged to the Ottoman Empire.
Khrushchev “donated” Crimea to Ukraine during his spell as General Secretary of the Soviet Union.
Sevastopol is the main strategic port in the Black Sea.
Many will also remember that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down by the separatists close to the Russian border during the ongoing conflict. Dutch investigators firmly placed Russia as being the guilty party, supplying both equipment and military personnel. 283 passengers and 15 crew members died.
Norway are among the many nations who have imposed sanctions, mostly in line with those of the EU. This has led to a more strenuous relation with Russia in some areas.
© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today
