US expands sanctions against Russia

The new measures target companies in countries such as China in a bid to “discourage” trade with Moscow

The US Departments of State and Treasury on Wednesday sanctioned 300 additional individuals and entities in Russia and elsewhere, which it accuses of having links to Moscow’s “war economy.”

According to the Treasury Department, the latest measures target individuals and companies suspected of enabling Moscow to evade the Western embargo.

“Today’s actions strike at their remaining avenues for international materials and equipment, including their reliance on critical supplies from third countries,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

Wednesday’s measures target more than $100 million in trade between Russia and its foreign partners. Companies and individuals in China, Kyrgyzstan, and Türkiye made the sanctions list, with the US going after targets in east and central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, the Treasury Department claims.

“We are increasing the risk for financial institutions dealing with Russia’s war economy and eliminating paths for evasion, and diminishing Russia’s ability to benefit from access to foreign technology, equipment, software, and IT services.”

The two departments have issued a new interpretation of existing executive orders that prohibit US citizens from providing anyone in Russia with “IT consultancy and design services,” as well as “IT support services and cloud-based services for enterprise management software and design and manufacturing software.”

The Department of Treasury has also redefined Russia’s military-industrial base to include all persons sanctioned under Executive Order 14024 – including Sberbank and VTB – meaning that third-country financial institutions “risk being sanctioned for conducting or facilitating significant transactions, or providing any service” to them.

Washington has sanctioned more than 4,000 Russian individuals and companies since February 2022, aiming to harm the country’s military efforts against Kiev. The move by the US comes before the G7 summit in Italy, where Washington had hoped to announce progress on the confiscation of frozen Russian sovereign assets. However, the US and its EU allies have reportedly been unable to agree on the next step.

Moscow “will not leave the aggressive actions of the US unanswered,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in response to Washington’s announcement.

Meanwhile, the Moscow Stock Exchange has announced that it will not conduct trading in US dollars and euros from Thursday due to the new US sanctions.

https://www.rt.com/news/599182-sanctions-russia-us-trade/

>>21013861

Moscow exchange suspends trading in dollars and euro

The move has been prompted by a new round of sanctions imposed by the US, the group has claimed

https://www.rt.com/business/599188-euro-dollar-suspense/

Creating the new theater continues

US company stops supplying life-saving drug to Russia

An Eli Lilly subsidiary has halted deliveries of its insulin product mainly used by children

The supply of Humalog-brand insulin made by Eli Lilly has practically run out in Russia, the newspaper Kommersant has reported. Most of the drug’s customers have been children with type-1 diabetes.

In March 2022, following the start of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Lilly had announced that it was stopping the export of “non-essential” drugs to Russia, such as the erectile dysfunction pill Cialis, but that cancer and diabetes drugs were unaffected.

Since then, the US pharma giant delegated its Russia operations to a Swiss subsidiary, Swixx BioPharma. According to Kommersant, that company notified Russian authorities in February that it was halting new deliveries of Humalog, also known as insulin lispro. No reason was given for the move.

Russia’s drug monitoring body Roszdravnadzor said that as of Monday, there were more than a million doses of insulin lispro in circulation, “which corresponds to the annual need for this drug.”

Though Lilly has withdrawn its product, there were three domestic substitutes in circulation already, meaning that “the patients’ need for this drug will be fully met,” Roszdravnadzor added.

Two generic substitutes for Humalog have been manufactured by the Russian company Geropharm. Another company, JSC Pharmsintez-Nord, began producing the same kind of insulin earlier this year as well. Lilly had accounted for almost all the insulin on the Russian market as late as 2019.

https://www.rt.com/russia/599192-insulin-children-delivery-stopped/

Statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland

The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland regarding the U.S. House of Representatives’ vote on H. Res. 1292:

“It is deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon. Today’s vote disregards the constitutional separation of powers, the Justice Department’s need to protect its investigations, and the substantial amount of information we have provided to the Committees.

I will always stand up for this Department, its employees, and its vital mission to defend our democracy.”

Updated June 12, 2024

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/statement-attorney-general-merrick-b-garland-3

EU agrees to give Ukraine $1.6 billion in proceeds from Russia’s frozen assets

The funds will primarily go to bankroll Kiev’s war effort, EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen says

The European Union has agreed to release profits from Russia’s “immobilized assets” and to use them to prop up Kiev against Moscow, EU Commission head Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday.

The bloc has agreed to a new aid package for Ukraine, which includes €1.9 billion ($2 billion) from the EU’s Ukraine facility, as well as some €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) in windfall profits “generated from the immobilized Russian assets.”

The funds are expected to be allocated by the end of July, von der Leyen announced during the so-called Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin.

“Around €1.5 billion from the windfall profits will become available in July: 90% of these funds will go to defense, 10% to reconstruction. And, later this week, at the G7 Summit, we will further discuss how Ukraine can benefit even quicker from the proceeds of the immobilized Russian assets,” she said.

The official dismissed concerns about the potential implications of the move for the global financial system, insisting the bloc has done it “in line with international law, and while ensuring the stability of financial markets.”

https://www.rt.com/news/599193-eu-ukraine-russian-assets/

Something something steal from a Goy

Former Columbus police officer pleads guilty to stealing, selling cocaine

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdoh/pr/former-columbus-police-officer-pleads-guilty-stealing-selling-cocaine

Former Pearl Police Officer Sentenced to One Year in Federal Prison for Civil Rights Offense

https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/pr/former-pearl-police-officer-sentenced-one-year-federal-prison-civil-rights-offense

the shills are super pissed today

who pissed in their pool?

>>21014294

Why isn't HIAS in your spam? It's the biggest?

Intel Halts Multibillion Chip Plant Expansion In Israel, Still 'Committed' To Region

The US-based chip giant Intel Corp is halting a $25 billion chip manufacturing project in Israel, Calcalist reported on 10 June.

The Israeli news agency writes that Intel’s decision to stop the building of the multibillion-dollar factory after “Intel's suppliers received in recent days notice of the cancellation of contracts for the supply of equipment and materials required for the establishment of the company's new factory.”

The plant was announced in December of last year and was expected to be built in Kiryat Gat, just shy of 60 kilometers from Tel Aviv.

The Calcalist report states Intel said in response that Israel continues to be one of the technology company’s “key global manufacturing and [research and development] sites, and we remain committed to the region.

“As mentioned previously, the scope and rate of expansion of Intel's production at the company's sites around the world depend on a number of changing factors,” Intel’s response read. “Managing a project of this magnitude, especially in our industry, usually involves schedule adjustments. Our decisions are based on business conditions, market dynamics, and responsible capital management.”

Since the beginning of the war in October of last year, Israel has suffered economic consequences at the hands of the Palestinian resistance.

Venture capitalist investments in Israel peaked in 2021 at $29 billion, but as of 2024, foreign investment has sunk to around $5 billion.

Chief of Israel’s central bank, Amir Yaron, said in May that Israel’s current war costs $70 billion of the Israeli 2025 budget.

“There is no doubt that more expenses will be needed since the economy needs security, and security needs the economy. However, it is important to emphasize – you cannot give an open check on the issue of security spending, you must find the right balance between things,” Yaron said.

Foreign investment by way of defense contracts has been slashed due to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Earlier this year, Samsung Next decided to close its operations in Israel and focus on other projects abroad. The innovation branch of Samsung has over 70 investments in Israel.

In February, The Japanese Itochu corporation’s aviation unit cut strategic contracts signed with Israel’s Elbit Systems Ltd.

Also in February, Belgium’s Walloon Region suspended two ammunition export licenses to Israel following pressure from rights groups. Later that same month, The Netherlands decided to halt deliveries of F-35 fighter jet parts to Israel, citing the same reasons.

https://thecradle.co/articles/intel-halts-construction-of-multibillion-chip-plant-in-israel

House Moves To Defund Ukrainian NGO That Issued 'Enemies List' After Rep. Jim Banks Takes Action

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) has taken swift and decisive action against the Data Journalism Agency (texty.org.ua), a Ukrainian NGO with US State Department links that recently published an 'enemies list' of individuals and organizations opposed to the war in Ukraine.

Following a letter sent by Banks to his Republican colleagues, the House Appropriations Committee has passed a provision that would prohibit US funding and sever ties with the NGO, which deemed 76 organizations and 388 individuals as enemies of Ukraine - including ZeroHedge and prominent American politicians opposed to the war in Ukraine.

"Federal bureaucrats should not support or partner with foreign groups that attempt to intimidate and silence U.S. citizens and lawmakers," Banks wrote in his letter. "I am urging the Appropriations Committee majority to support efforts in the Fiscal Year 2025 SFOPS bill to force the State Department and USAID to end all relations with foreign NGOs like TEXTY that seek to silence the speech of Americans they dislike and to sway U.S. policymakers to serve their own interests."

Texty.org.ua was founded by Anatoly Bondarenko, a participant in the State Department's TechCamp program, which aims to train foreign journalists and activists in digital skills. The relationship between Bondarenko and the State Department has been publicly acknowledged, adding layers to the debate over the NGO's activities and its impact on U.S. interests.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/house-moves-defund-ukrainian-ngo-issued-enemies-list-after-rep-jim-banks-takes-action