Biden, G-7 leaders to announce a new round of punishment for Russia’s invasion

The White House said President Biden and Group of Seven leaders will follow a Monday meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with a new round of sanctions designed to “sap” Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military-industrial complex and strangle its economy.

They will impose tariffs on hundreds of Russian products and slap sanctions on hundreds of individuals and entities, on top of the more than 1,000 already punished.

Also, leaders will impose sanctions and visa restrictions on private military companies involved in the invasion and Russians who commit war crimes, steal Ukrainian grain or act as puppet officials in occupied towns.

The White House touted the actions as Mr. Biden meets with G-7 and NATO leaders in an attempt to solidify alliances and isolate Russia for invading its neighbor on Feb. 24. The brutal war has dragged on for months and is centered in the eastern Donbas region.

The Biden administration said its actions have taken a bite already, with inflation soaring and Russia looking at a double-digit decline in its gross domestic product.

“Russia’s struggling to make bond payments, and Russia’s defaulted on its sovereign debt for the first time in more than a century,” the White House statement said.

The U.S. will impose sanctions on major state-owned defense enterprises so it is harder for Moscow to replace equipment destroyed in Ukraine while imposing a higher tariff rate on more than 570 groups of Russian products worth approximately $2.3 billion to Russia.

“These measures will restrict Russia’s ability to benefit economically from sales to the U.S. market and are carefully calibrated to impose costs on Russia while minimizing costs to U.S. consumers,” the White House said.

The G-7 leaders will also backfill Ukraine’s budget shortfalls, starting with a $7.5 billion commitment from the U.S. in a supplemental bill from Congress.

“The commitment by the leaders will include maintaining Ukraine’s credible military readiness and defense, including through the timely provision of modern defense equipment and advanced weapons systems,” the White House said.