Home › World › US sanctions widen on Russia and Moldova's Gagauzia
US sanctions widen on Russia and Moldova's Gagauzia
Summary
A retrospective on 12 June 2024, when Washington targeted a Moldovan regional governor and foreign banks dealing with Russian entities.
What did Washington target on 12 June 2024, and where did the pressure fall? Two measures landed on the same day, both aimed at the edges of Russia's economic and political reach.
The United States imposed sanctions on Evghenia Guțul, the pro-Russian governor of Moldova's Gagauzia region. The step placed a regional official in Moldova within the scope of US penalties, a notable focus for a measure of this kind.
The second measure was broader. The United States expanded secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that had conducted business with more than 4,500 US-sanctioned Russian entities. Secondary sanctions work by extending risk beyond Russian borders: banks outside Russia that deal with sanctioned entities become exposed themselves.
A regional backdrop
Elsewhere on the border of the region, on 10 June 2024, Poland announced a no-go zone in the Białowieża Forest to prevent migrants from crossing from Belarus. Concerns were raised about the possible effect on summer tourism.
These items were separate, but together they show how pressure on Russia and its neighbourhood was being applied on different levels: financial restrictions on institutions, sanctions on a named regional governor, and border controls along the frontier with Belarus.
