The United States
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced further actions against Russia on Monday, including barring Russian financial institutions -- such as the Russian Central Bank -- from making transactions in American dollars.
The US also imposed sanctions on the state-owned Russian Direct Investment Fund, calling it a "known slush fund" for Putin and his inner circle.
The aggressive moves were taken to prohibit Russia from accessing a "rainy day fund" that officials said Moscow had been expecting to rely upon during the invasion of Ukraine. Instead of using the reserves to buffer a plummeting ruble, Russia will no longer be able to access the funds it keeps in US dollars.
US President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled another set of harsh measures against Russia, saying: "Putin chose this war."
Those sanctions include export blocks on technology, a centerpiece of Biden's approach that he said would severely limit Russia's ability to advance its military and aerospace sector.
In a statement, the White House said "this includes Russia-wide restrictions on semiconductors, telecommunication, encryption security, lasers, sensors, navigation, avionics and maritime technologies."
Washington also put sanctions on people it described as "corrupt billionaires" and their families who are close to the Kremlin.
It said it would cut off 13 major state-owned companies from raising money in the United States, including energy giant Gazprom and Sberbank, Russia's largest financial institution.
The White House also vowed to sanction two dozen Belarusian individuals and companies, which include "two significant Belarusian state-owned banks, nine defense firms, and seven regime-connected officials and elites."
