Canada Imposes New Sanctions on Russia Amid G7 Summit

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Mélanie Joly, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, has announced new sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Russia) Regulations in alignment with international partners at the G7 Summit in Italy, held from June 13 to 15, 2024.

Targets of the New Sanctions:

The new sanctions focus on several key areas:

1. Disinformation and Propaganda:

• Sanctions are imposed on individuals and entities involved in disinformation campaigns and propaganda operations. This includes those identified by Rapid Response Mechanism Canada.

2. Military-Industrial Complex:

• Entities within Russia’s military-industrial sector that supply crucial technology and electrical components supporting military efforts are targeted.

3. Sanctions Circumvention:

• Entities aiding in sanctions evasion, particularly those facilitating Russia’s access to restricted goods or enabling revenue from oil sales above the G7 price cap, are included.

Export Prohibitions

In addition to targeting individuals and entities, the announcement includes export prohibitions:

- Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) Machine Tools:• The new measures prohibit the export of CNC machine tools to Russia, which could be utilized in weapon production and manufacturing. This aligns Canada’s sanctions with other nations implementing Tier IV (B) of the Common High Priority Items List, restricting Canadians both domestically and abroad from providing these items to Russia.

Objectives of the Sanctions

The sanctions aim to:

• Disrupt Russia’s military capabilities by restricting access to essential components.
• Deny Russia revenue to fund its military activities.
• Undermine disinformation operations.

Since January 2022, Canada has pledged over $14 billion to support Ukraine through various forms of aid, including financial, military, humanitarian, development, and immigration assistance.