Biden extends sanctions against Russia for another year

U.S. President Joe Biden signed a decree extending for another year the sanctions against Russia which were imposed in April 2021 over harmful foreign activities of the Russian government and expanded in March 2022 after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As the press service of the White House reports, according to U.S. law, the sanctions are terminated unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes a notice stating that the imposed restrictions are to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date.

Since the Russian government has not stopped "harmful foreign activities" that "continue to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States," the U.S. president decided to extend anti-Russian sanctions beyond April 15, 2023, for another year.

The types of harmful activities of the Russian government abroad listed in the decree are:

• Efforts to undermine the conduct of free and fair democratic elections and democratic institutions in the United States and its allies and partners;
• Efforts to engage in and facilitate malicious cyber-enabled activities against the United States and its allies and partners;
• Efforts to foster and use transnational corruption to influence foreign governments;
• Efforts to pursue extraterritorial activities targeting dissidents or journalists;
• Efforts to undermine security in countries and regions important to United States national security;
• Efforts to violate well-established principles of international law, including respect for the territorial integrity of states

As reported, more than 650 individuals and legal entities that promote Russian aggression, including Russian officials, military-industrial complex companies, and collaborators, were put on Ukraine’s sanctions list.