The U.S. on Friday announced more than 500 new sanction designations against Russian individuals and entities, seeking to ramp up the pressure on the Kremlin after the recent death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“These sanctions will target individuals connected to Navalny’s imprisonment as well as Russia’s financial sector, defense industrial base, procurement networks and sanctions evaders across multiple continents,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military reported that a Russian drone attack on the southern Ukraine port city of Odesa killed three people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed further support packages from allied countries. Zelenskyy sharply criticized the ongoing farmer protests on the Ukraine-Poland border, however, describing the situation as “utterly unacceptable.”
Emergency services workers sift through the rubble after a drone attack overnight struck an infrastructure facility causing a fire February 23, 2024 in Odesa, Ukraine.
Libkos | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Nearly two years on from the day Russia first launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s confidence appears to have been bolstered by recent territorial advances.
Russian forces on Thursday claimed to have taken the small settlement of Pobeda in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, following up on its most significant win in nine months last week â the capture of Ukraine’s longtime stronghold of Avdiivka. CNBC could not independently verify the claim Russia had captured Pobeda.
Saturday marks the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.