Biden sanctions major Russian bank

The White House cracked down on Russia Thursday by targeting over 50 people in its financial sector and Gazprombank, the largest remaining bank not sanctioned by the U.S.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the actions are designed to rein in Moscow’s “abuse” of the international financial system to fund its war versus Ukraine.

“The United States remains committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position, and we will continue to take all available steps to do so from surging security assistance to imposing and fully enforcing sanctions and other restrictions on Russia’s war machine,” Mr. Sullivan said.

President Biden is signaling strong support for Ukraine in the waning days of his administration. He authorized Kyiv to use U.S.-supplied missiles into Russian territory, infuriating the Kremlin.

Russia launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at Ukraine Thursday in an early morning barrage targeting critical infrastructure in the city of Dnipro.

President-elect Donald Trump has taken a more skeptical line toward Kyiv and vowed to end the war swiftly.

It’s unclear if that can be done without ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia, a result that would anger Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The U.S. Treasury Department said Gazprombank plays a key role in Russia’s war machine, from funding military equipment to paying Russian soldiers and the families of killed fighters.

Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.K. previously sanctioned Gazprombank.

The Treasury Department also sanctioned more than 50 small to midsize Russian banks to prevent Moscow from “abusing the international financial system to pay for the technology and equipment it needs to sustain its illegal and unjust war against Ukraine.”

The government uses sanctions to block property and transactions between the targeted entities and those in the U.S. or controlled by Americans.

Non-Americans are also prohibited from enlisting U.S. people to evade the sanctions.