Sanctions against Putin, the conflict between Russia and the USA escalates. The new sanctions that the US will impose on Russia in response to the death of Alexei Navalny and on the eve of the second anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine have been announced. More than 500 Russian targets are likely to be subject to sanctions, according to CNN, which cited a Treasury Department official as a source. This is the most important tranche of sanctions imposed by Washington against Moscow since the beginning of the war. The goals should include supporting Vladimir Putin's war machine and a series of sanctions including against the heads of the prison where Navalny lost his life.
Russia has called the new package of American sanctions a “cynical” meddling designed to divide Russians ahead of a mid-March presidential election in which Vladimir Putin is expected to be triumphantly re-elected. “The new restrictions are another brazen and cynical attempt to interfere in Russia's internal affairs, force us to give up our vital interests and divide Russian society on the eve of the presidential election,” condemned Moscow's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, quoted by the Russian state agency Tass.