U.S. Sanctions Russia for Two-Year War Anniversary

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the United States’ most extensive Russia war sanctions yet, Israel’s postwar plans for Gaza, and Senegal’s election promises.

Two Years On

Saturday marks the two-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More than 10,000 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 wounded in the conflict thus far, according to a United Nations report published Thursday. Fighting has displaced millions of people, destroyed entire cities, and heightened geopolitical tensions to historic levels in Europe’s largest war since World War II.

“In 2024, we are now significantly closer to a bipolar global divide reminiscent of the Cold War than only two years ago,” Jo Inge Bekkevold argued in Foreign Policy.

To recognize the conflict’s milestone, the United States imposed new sanctions on more than 500 individuals and entities in Russia and globally on Friday. This is Washington’s most extensive sanctions package on Moscow since the war began. The new restrictions target Russia’s military-industrial complex as well as companies in third-party states that help facilitate the Kremlin’s access to certain goods. Some of the largest organizations targeted include Russia’s Siberian Coal Energy Co., whose transportation and logistics system aids Russia’s military; Mechel, a major Russian mining firm that produces specialty steels; and Russia’s National Payment Card System.

As part of the new sanctions package, the U.S. State Department also added restrictions on Russia for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a Russian penal colony last week. These include restrictions on three Russian officials allegedly connected to his death. Washington directly blames Russian President Vladimir Putin for Navalny’s inhumane imprisonment.

“If Putin does not pay the price for his death and destruction, he will keep going,” U.S. President Joe Biden said when announcing the new sanctions. “And the costs to the United States—along with our NATO allies and partners in Europe and around the world—will rise.”

Yet Washington is struggling to provide further aid to Ukraine. A $95.3 billion emergency spending package that would grant $60 billion to Kyiv remains stalled in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives despite being already approved by the Senate. “Sanctions alone can only slow down Russia,” U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said. “We need financial support for Ukraine and for the weapons that they need to be able to be on the battlefield to defend themselves.”

The European Union announced its own round of sanctions on Friday targeting foreign companies that have exported goods to Russia for it to use against Ukraine. The bloc also banned nearly 200 people and entities that have helped Moscow acquire weapons from traveling to or conducting business within the EU. And it announced penalties against individuals involved in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children.

Despite past sanctions efforts, the International Monetary Fund projected in late January that Russia’s economy will grow by 2.6 percent this year—more than doubling its initial forecast.

Today’s Most Read

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• What the Western Media Gets Wrong About Taiwan by Clarissa Wei

What We’re Following

What comes next for Gaza? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday released his first official “day after” plan for Gaza once Israel’s war against Hamas ends. Under the proposal, Israel would maintain indefinite security control over all land west of the Jordan River, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as make reconstruction efforts in Gaza dependent on the territory’s demilitarization. Local officials not affiliated with Israeli-designated terrorist organizations would help govern the territory. The plan makes no mention of the Palestinian Authority, which nominally controls the West Bank at present and is the United States’ preferred choice to govern postwar Gaza.

Palestinian officials quickly condemned the plan, which Netanyahu presented to Israel’s security cabinet on Thursday. The one-page proposal is essentially a position paper meant to facilitate discussion, and it would still need to be approved by Netanyahu’s government. Netanyahu continues to reject a two-state solution despite the international community, including the United States, arguing that such a plan is the only way to create long-term peace. “If the world is genuinely interested in having security and stability in the region, it must end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian land and recognize an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital,” a spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said.

Israeli officials met with Egyptian, Qatari, and U.S. negotiators in Paris on Friday to discuss advancing a cease-fire deal that would release all remaining Israeli hostages. Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected a permanent truce but indicated that he might be open to a temporary pause in fighting. Israel warned that if Hamas does not free all of the captives it is still holding by March 10, the Israel Defense Forces will launch a ground offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of the Gaza Strip’s 2.3 million residents are sheltering.

Poland secures EU win. The European Commission announced on Friday that it would unfreeze billions of euros earmarked for Poland next week. The EU funds will be made available to Warsaw due to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s efforts to restore independence to the nation’s judiciary. “This is great news for the Polish people and for Europe—and this is your achievement,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Tusk. Tusk came to power in December 2023 and has since faced fierce backlash from the former ruling far-right Law and Justice party.

Already, Tusk has outlined where some of the money will go. He said he plans to send 1.5 billion euros (or roughly $1.6 billion) directly to small- and medium-sized food producers, many of whom are protesting cheap imports from Ukraine. Poland will also gain access to around 60 billion euros (or nearly $65 billion) designed to address the country’s post-pandemic recovery as well as efforts to transition away from fossil fuels.

Sall promises new elections. In a televised interview on Thursday, Senegalese President Macky Sall said he will leave office when his term ends on April 2. Elections originally set for Sunday were pushed back by 10 months, sparking mass deadly protests. Now, Sall said political talks will begin on Monday to determine a new election date.

Sall added that, as a show of good faith, he plans to release opposition leader Ousmane Sonko from prison. Sonko was charged last year with attempting to incite an insurrection—an accusation that many Senegalese argue was politically motivated. However, 16 out of 19 presidential candidates as well as numerous civil society organizations have said they will not attend next week’s national dialogue. They argue that government efforts to delay the vote were meant to illegally stall Sall’s departure.

Odds and Ends

The saga continues for custody of China’s beloved panda bears. Officials with the San Diego Zoo announced on Thursday that Washington is in talks with Beijing to bring giant pandas back to the United States. If approved, China would send two of the fuzzy bamboo-lovers to San Diego by the end of the summer. Late last year, the Smithsonian’s National Zoo was forced to return all three of its black-and-white friends to China after Beijing decided not to renew its contract. But what many experts feared was the end of U.S.-China panda diplomacy is now in reach once again.