Sanctions tightened and grain stayed blocked by 9 June 2022
A look back at the economic pressure points visible in early June 2022, from the EU's sixth sanctions package to a US ban on trading Russian debt and stocks.
What did economic pressure on Russia look like by 9 June 2022? In the days before that date, it moved on two fronts: sanctions in Brussels and Washington, and a food crisis tied to blocked Ukrainian grain.
On 3 June 2022, the EU formally approved its sixth package of sanctions against Russia over its aggression against Ukraine. The package covered 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 US Department of the Treasury banned all trading of Russian debt and stocks, including on the secondary market. Together with the EU measures, this widened the restrictions on Russia's financial and trade links within the same week.
The grain issue unfolded in parallel. On 3 June 2022, the Kremlin reported that Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, and Senegal's president, Macky Sall, discussed the ongoing food and grain crisis, which the report tied to Russia's blocking of Ukrainian grain. They also discussed economic and humanitarian cooperation at a meeting in Sochi.
Taken together, these reports show the economic dimension of the war on 9 June 2022: Western governments were extending financial and trade restrictions on Russia, while the blockade of Ukrainian grain remained a subject of diplomacy involving countries outside the conflict.
