Russia has vaulted past Iran and North Korea to become the world’s most-sanctioned nation in the span of just 10 days following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
There are now more sanctions against Russia than there are against Iran, Venezuela, Myanmar, and Cuba combined, according to Castellum.AI, a global sanctions-tracking database.
In a surge of action led by the United States and European allies starting February 22, Russia became the target of 2,778 new sanctions designations, bringing them to more than 5,530. That surpassed Iran, which has confronted 3,616 sanctions against it over the course of a decade, most for its nuclear programme and support of terrorism.
Russia faced 2,754 sanctions before Feb. 22, making it the second-most sanctioned country in the world behind Iran. However, since President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into eastern Ukraine on Feb. 21, sanctions against Russia have skyrocketed to 5,532.
In comparison, Iran has faced 3,616 sanctions, primarily for its nuclear program and support of terrorism, according to Bloomberg. Syria and North Korea follow closely behind Iran with 2,608 and 2,077 sanctions, respectively.
The flood of sanctions comes from the U.S. and its Western allies, who have demonstrated significant unity in the face of Russia's invasion into Ukraine.
The historically neutral Switzerland leads other countries in the number of sanctions it has lobbied against Russia, with 568 sanctions. Alongside Switzerland, the European Union, France, Canada, Australia and the U.S. make up the vast majority of countries sanctioning Russia.
That data is also in keeping with what’s been one of the biggest surprises of the sanctions regimes so far: that European nations, historically more wary of imposing sanctions, have led the way, even surpassing the US in some cases. Senior officials say one example of that was the decision to kick some Russian banks off the Swift financial messaging system, a move where the US initially lagged.
President Putin said over the weekend that the sanctions were akin to a declaration of war.
On CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US and its partners are looking “in a coordinated way at the prospect of banning the import of Russian oil, while making sure that there is still an appropriate supply of oil on world markets”.
On Monday, Russia warned it might close off its main gas pipeline to Germany if the West went ahead and banned Russian oil.
Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said such a move would lead to "catastophic consquences" for global supply and lead to the oil price doubling to $300 a barrel.
The US has been exploring a potential ban with allies as a way of punishing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. But Germany and the Netherlands rejected the plan on Monday.
The EU gets about 40% of its gas and 30% of its oil from Russia, and has no easy substitutes if supplies are disrupted.
Mr Novok said Russia has every right to retaliate, and pointed to Germany's decision last month to block certification for the second Nord Stream pipeline between the two countries.
