Sanctions on Russia: the EU and US moves of August 2018
A look back at two sets of penalties announced in the final days of July and on 3 August 2018.
What did Western sanctions on Russia look like in the first days of August 2018? On 3 August 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on a Russian bank that had facilitated a transaction for a North Korean on an American blacklist.
The US step followed action by the European Union a few days earlier. On 31 July 2018, the EU imposed sanctions on six Russian companies involved in building the bridge that connects mainland Russia to the annexed Crimean peninsula.
The Crimea link
The bridge measures concerned Crimea, which Russia invaded and occupied in February and March 2014 before annexing it after a referendum described as illegitimate. That took place amid the uncertainty following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity. The invasion marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Two tracks
The two measures were separate in their targets. The EU's penalties fell on companies tied to the construction of the bridge, while the American sanction concerned a bank and a transaction involving a North Korean on a US blacklist.
Taken together, they showed sanctions being applied to Russian entities by both the EU and the US within the span of four days.
