Sanctions and a grain crisis: economic pressure in early June 2022
Reports from 3 to 7 June 2022 show sanctions tightening on Russia while the blocked Ukrainian grain trade stayed on diplomatic agendas.
How far had economic pressure on Russia advanced by 8 June 2022? Reports from the days just before that date point to a tightening sanctions regime on one side and a continuing food crisis on the other.
On 3 June 2022, the European Union formally approved its sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. The measures concerned Russian oil, bank payment systems (including disconnection from SWIFT), television broadcasting, general exports, consulting services and individual listings of sanctioned persons.
On 7 June 2022, the United States Department of the Treasury banned all trading of Russian debt and stocks, including on the secondary market.
The grain issue was also under discussion. On 3 June 2022, the Kremlin reported that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Senegal's president, Macky Sall, had discussed the current food and grain crisis, caused by Russia's blocking of Ukrainian grain, during a meeting in Sochi. They also spoke about economic and humanitarian cooperation.
Taken together, the reports from that period show financial and trade restrictions being extended on both sides of the Atlantic, while the blockage of Ukrainian grain remained a subject of international talks.
