From Sandra Johnson
WASHINGTON: The US State Department on Sunday announced a raft of visa bans and a new policy of visa restrictions on more than 2,500 Russian military officials and Russian-backed forces in Ukraine, according to a department fact sheet.
The State Department also said it designated eight Russian maritime-related companies and added 69 vessels to a U.S. Treasury Department sanctions list.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden met with his G7 counterparts and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sunday to discuss Russia’s war in Ukraine and new measures to punish Moscow.
Biden, who has lauded unity among the Group of Seven large economies in standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, was scheduled to meet by video conference with his fellow leaders at 11:00am ET from his home in Delaware, where he is spending the weekend.
The White House said the leaders would discuss adding to the sanctions that Western countries have imposed on Russia since its February 24 invasion.
“They will discuss the latest developments in Russia’s war against Ukraine; the global impact of Putin’s war; showing support for Ukraine and Ukraine’s future; and demonstrating continued G7 unity in our collective response, including building on our unprecedented sanctions to impose severe costs for Putin’s war,” the White House said in a statement.
