Belarus and Russia face US export curbs on oil refining equipment

A week after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of neighboring Ukraine, the Biden administration announced a wave of new export controls targeting oil refining.

We'll take actions to ban Russian airlines from U.S. airspace, target Russia's most important sources of wealth, and hold Belarus accountable for allowing Putin to invade Ukraine," the State Department said in a statement.

Export control policies will be extended to Belarus, as well as restrictions preventing items as diverse as defense, aerospace, and maritime technology and software from being diverted to Russia.

Russian oil refineries would be made harder to modernize with the latest round of sanctions announced by the White House.

As a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Biden said he was open to banning Russian oil. White House press secretary Jen Psaki told MSNBC, "It's on the table and we are considering it. We are weighing all the impacts.".

Almost 70 percent of all imports from Belarus have been banned as an effect of new EU sanctions for Belarus's role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU said on Wednesday.

After Putin's invasion of Ukraine, which was approved by the Duma on February 24, the United States has steadily increased sanctions against Moscow. A staging area for the assault has been set up in Belarus by Russian troops.

3 March 2022