New Putin Decree Could Cut Russian Exports to US and Europe

The order forbids exports to people and entities on a sanctions list the Russian government is drawing up

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday that will ban exports to people and entities on a sanctions list that the Russian government has 10 days to draw up.

The order is Putin’s reaction to the US-led Western sanctions campaign that aims to decimate the Russian economy. He said the decree sets out “retaliatory special economic measures in connection with the unfriendly actions of some foreign states and international organizations.”

Putin’s said the Western pressure campaign is meant to deprive “the Russian Federation, citizens of the Russian Federation and Russian legal entities of property rights or the restricting their property rights.”

While it’s not clear at this point who will be sanctioned, the ban on exports could apply to European countries that are incredibly reliant on Russian gas. Moscow has already stopped shipping gas to Poland and Bulgaria for their refusal to pay using the ruble.

Putin’s retaliatory measures are a natural response to the pressure Russia is facing and demonstrate the power Moscow has to hurt Western economies. For example, German economic institutes have warned Germany would face a sharp recession if Russian energy was suddenly cut off.

President Biden has said that Americans would feel some economic pain from the sanctions on Russia and has even warned of “real” food shortages as a result.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.