Australia imposes sanctions on 44 Russian individuals and entities, targeting war economy
Australia has imposed targeted financial sanctions on 37 individuals and seven entities as part of efforts to ‘further weaken Russia’s war economy’, Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced Wednesday.
The new sanctions target Russia’s defence, energy, transport, insurance, electronics and finance sectors, as well as ‘promulgators of Russian disinformation and propaganda’, according to a joint statement with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.
Wong said the ‘targeted sanctions reflect our close coordination with key NATO partners, including the UK, Canada and the European Union’ and noted that Australia has now imposed more than 1,500 sanctions in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions announcement coincided with Australia’s deepening cooperation with NATO, including the deployment of a Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail aircraft to Europe in August ‘to help protect a vital international gateway for humanitarian and military assistance into Ukraine’.
Up to 100 Australian Defence Force personnel will deploy alongside the aircraft under Operation Kudu, with the deployment expected to conclude by November 2025. The mission comes at the request of NATO and Poland and complements Australia’s overall support to Ukraine of more than $1.5 billion since the start of Russia’s invasion, according to the statement.
Australia also signed an agreement with the NATO Support and Procurement Organisation during the NATO Leaders’ Summit in The Hague, which the statement explained ‘strengthens Australia’s cooperation with NATO partners on capability acquisition, systems support and logistics’.
An email for comment to the Russian foreign ministry in Moscow about the fresh sanctions did not receive an immediate response.
