US visa restrictions for 511 Russians following G7 summit

The US has hit 511 Russian military officers operating in Zaporizhzhia and Mariupol with US visa sanctions, while also sanctioning the Mayor of Melitopol and the Federal Security Service, the US Department of State (DoS) has confirmed. 

The restrictions come amid threats or violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence following Russia’s ‘unprovoked and unjustified war’ against Ukraine and on 18 Russian nationals in relation to suppression of dissent – including politically motivated detentions. 

Among those sanctioned were 19 members of the Rostec board of directors, nine of their spouses or adult children, and Halyna Danylchenko – described as the ‘illegitimate mayor of Melitopol – who the State Department said ‘was installed by Russia following the kidnapping of the democratically elected mayor of Melitopol.

Uzbekistan company sanctioned

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the State Department was imposing sanctions on 45 entities and 29 individuals. Among those sanctioned was Uzbekistan-based Promcomplektlogistic Private Company, which had done business with a sanctioned Russian entity.

In a statement, Blinken said: “The Department of State is also designating Russian military units that have been credibly implicated in human rights abuses or violations of international humanitarian law as part of our commitment to promote accountability for atrocities in Ukraine.”

According to a State Department fact sheet, the sanctioned units include the 76th Guards Air Assault Division and its subordinate 234th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment, and the 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade.

The fact sheet said: “In March 2022, Russia’s 76th Guards Air Assault Division and its 234th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment encamped on Bucha, Ukraine’s Yablunska Street, which became an epicenter of violence against civilians and other human rights abuses in Bucha. 

“Images of dead civilians lining Yablunska Street are seared into our global memory and will not be forgotten,” the fact sheet added.

Federal Security Service (FSB) 

The State Department has also moved to sanction Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) for its role in human rights violations during the war, including its reported involvement in Russia’s so-called filtration camps. 

Previous US visa sanctions against Russia include those made in May targeting Russian and Belarussian military personnel believed to have operated in Bucha – a town on the outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv where Russian officers are accused of executing residents.

In addition to the sanctions in May targeting members of Russian forces, the State Department also blacklisted eight Russian maritime-related companies and 69 vessels, which now appear on a US Treasury Department sanctions list that blocks them from doing business in the United States or with American citizens.

The companies targeted by the State Department as part of sanctions in May include the Russian Ministry of Defense’s shipping company and Fertoing, a specialist machine engineering firm that manufactures remotely operated subsea equipment. Blinken said: “They will be blocked from accessing US technologies.”

May’s sanctions were reportedly imposed to close loopholes in existing sanctions and to also bring US restrictions against Russians in line with the UK, which announced similar sanctions recently.

G7 summit

The latest US visa sanctions imposed on Russia come in response to Russia’s months-long war in Ukraine, and were taken following a G7 summit in Germany, where steps were taken to tighten visa restrictions and include a gold import ban – meant to weaken Moscow, according to a report published by CNN.

A US Treasury Department statement announced sanctions on 70 entities, including State Corporation Rostec, described as a “massive Russian state-owned enterprise formed to consolidate Russia’s technological, aerospace, and military-industrial expertise.” Rostec’s key holdings and affiliates were also sanctioned.

Senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Europe Center, Rachel Rizzo, told CNN: “Imposing sanctions on Rostec is significant. It is basically the foundation of Russia’s defense industrial base.”

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