With military force not a feasible option, the United States is relying on sanctions to cripple Russia and avoid a world war. Russia is far from the only country facing America’s financial wrath through the use of sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctions on more than two dozen entities at the moment.
“When it comes to sanctions, I think, as you heard the President say, everything is on the table,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Countries and coalitions often turn to sanctions as a punishment or deterrent because they can demonstrate disapproval without bringing in the military. Sanctions can be applied on countries, like the United States has enforced against Cuba, or even individual people, like Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.
America utilizes a country-based sanction against Cuba, meaning nothing from the country is going to America, and nothing from the United States goes to Cuba.
An arms embargo represents the most common form of list-based sanction. The United States currently has an arms embargo on Cambodia, citing Chinese influence on the small southeast Asian country.
Governments and entities can also invoke targeted sanctions. This would include the United State’s recent ban on Russian oil.
The European Union, the United Nations, and the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control constitute the three main sanctions regimes. Regardless of which entity enforces sanctions, violating a sanction is a crime.
