The new sanctions, building on more than a week of steadily escalating sanctions and export controls, include full blocking sanctions on eight more Russian "elites" and their families, who have continued to support Putin despite his unprovoked "brutal invasion" of Ukraine, according to the announcement.
"These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people, and some have elevated their family members into high-ranking positions," the White House said. "Others sit atop Russia's largest companies and are responsible for providing the resources necessary to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine."
A representative for Russia's embassy in the U.S. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Russian officials have broadly decried recent sanctions imposed against Russia as "illegal."
The list includes Alisher Usmanov, a billionaire with alleged financial ties to Putin and "vast holdings" in metals and mining, telecommunications and information technology companies both in Russia and internationally, according to the White House. Usmanov's "superyacht" Dilbar, estimated by the U.S. Department of the Treasury to be worth between $600 million and $735 million, had already been seized by German authorities under European Union sanctions.
It also includes Putin's former KGB colleague Nikolay Tokarev, now president of the state-owned oil pipeline company Transneft; Boris and Arkady Rotenberg, who own oil pipeline and electrical supply line construction firm SGM; Sergei Chemezov, the CEO of aerospace and defense firm Rostec; and Igor Shuvalov, a former deputy prime minister and the chair of state development company Vnesheconombank, already sanctioned directly, the White House said.
Yevgeniy Prigozhin, financier of the previously sanctioned Internet Research Agency, a Russian "troll farm" that the White House said has attempted to interfere in U.S. elections and is otherwise involved in "global influence operations," is also included in that list of elites, alongside Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov, "a top purveyor of Putin's propaganda," according to the White House.
All of those people will be cut off from the U.S. financial system and have any U.S.-based assets frozen, according to the White House. Related intelligence from the Treasury Department will be shared with the U.S. Department of Justice, which on Wednesday announced the formation of Task Force KleptoCapture to support asset seizures and possible criminal prosecutions "where appropriate," the White House said.
There will also be full blocking sanctions imposed on other alleged purveyors of disinformation and propaganda, including SDN Strategic Culture Foundation and three related outlets, SouthFront, SDN InfoRos, New Eastern Outlook, Oriental Review, United World International and Geopolitical, as well as 26 individuals associated with those online outlets, according to the administration.
"These entities have spread false narratives that advance Russian strategic objectives and falsely justify the Kremlin's activities," fed by Russian intelligence services, the White House said.
The U.S. Department of State has also created a visa restriction policy for Russian oligarchs known to have directed, funded or supported Russia's "destabilizing foreign policy," the White House said. That will include an initial list of 19 such oligarchs and 47 of their family members and "close associates."
And the U.S. Department of Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security issued a final rule, set to be formally published in the Federal Register on March 8, prohibiting certain exports related to oil refining in an effort to "further limit revenue that could support the military capabilities of Russia."
In addition to the blitz of sanctions and export controls, the White House Office of Management and Budget also called on lawmakers on Thursday to approve $10 billion in additional aid to Ukraine to support "humanitarian, security, and economic assistance," including food assistance and the deployment of U.S. troops to countries neighboring Ukraine.
Congress is expected to consider a full-year fiscal 2022 omnibus spending bill next week, with the current continuing resolution temporarily funding the government set to expire on March 11.
--Editing by Marygrace Anderson.
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