The U.S. and its allies will impose severe new economic sanctions on Russia Thursday after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine - but a major sector of Russia's economy will be exempt from the punishing measures.
One senior administration official told Politico "No option is off the table," but cautioned "Starting out with energy could actually benefit Putin and pad his pockets. Given high oil and gas prices, cutting off Russian oil and gas will drive prices up to Putin's benefit. And as we have said repeatedly on the record, on background [and] off the record, our sanctions are designed to harm Russia's economy, not ours."
President Joe Biden addressed the nation Thursday afternoon and announced the next round of sanctions against Russia, following actions the U.S. government took on Tuesday to target Russian financial institutions and members of the country's elite.
"We have purposely designed these sanctions to maximize a long-term impact on Russia and to minimize impact on the United States and our allies," Biden said.
He added that the sanctions package is "Specifically designed to allow energy payments to continue" and said his administration was "Closely monitoring energy supplies for any disruption." The president promised to release additional barrels of oil from U.S. reserves to head off surging energy prices.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine was condemned by U.S. lawmakers of both parties, who supported the president's use of sanctions against Russia.
"The Biden administration should sanction Russian energy production to a halt, and help arm the Ukrainians to defend themselves. At the same time, the White House should reopen American energy production in full," said Hawley.
https://www.theblaze.com/news/us-will-not-target-russia-energy-sector-with-sanctions
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