What sanctions on Russian firms signalled by 6 August 2018

What pressure were Western governments putting on Russian companies as of 6 August 2018? Two measures announced in the preceding week gave part of the answer, one from the European Union and one from the United States.

On 31 July 2018, the European Union imposed sanctions on six Russian companies involved in building the bridge connecting mainland Russia to the annexed Crimea peninsula. The step fell within the framework of Russia–European Union relations.

Three days later, on 3 August 2018, the United States imposed sanctions on a Russian bank. According to the report, the bank had facilitated a transaction for a North Korean who was on an American blacklist. That action belonged to the track of Russia–United States relations.

The Crimea context

Crimea was occupied and annexed by Russia in February and March 2014, after a referendum that was described as illegitimate. The annexation followed the uncertainty that came immediately after Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity. It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Seen against that background, the EU's targeting of firms working on the bridge to the peninsula concerned infrastructure linking Russia to territory it had annexed.

Two different grounds

The two measures rested on different grounds. The European penalties concerned construction work tied to Crimea. The American penalty concerned a bank's role in a transaction for a blacklisted North Korean. Both, however, were imposed within four days of each other and both landed on Russian entities.