President Biden signs executive order prohibiting U.S. business with Ukraine’s breakaway regions

President Joe Biden on Monday signed an executive order restricting American business in Ukraine’s breakaway regions, in response to Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s recognition of those areas, a move that was widely interpreted as the prelude to an invasion of Ukraine.

“President Putin’s action contradicts Russia’s commitments under the Minsk agreements, refutes Russia’s claimed commitment to diplomacy, and undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the White House said in a statement.

Today’s Executive Order prohibits:

New investment in the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine by a United States person, wherever located;
The importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
The exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States, or by a United States person, wherever located, of any goods, services, or technology to the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
And any approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee by a United States person, wherever located, of a transaction by a foreign person where the transaction by that foreign person would be covered by these prohibitions if performed by a United States person or within the United States.

The E.O. also provides authority to impose sanctions on persons determined:

To operate or have operated since the date of the order in the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
To be or have been since the date of the order a leader, official, senior executive officer, or member of the board of directors of an entity operating in the so-called DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine;
To be owned or controlled by, or to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order;
Or to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, any person whose property and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this order.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemns Russia’s decision to recognise as independent the self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, and calls for the adoption of targeted European sanctions in response, the Élysée Palace said in a statement Monday.

Macron also said Russia’s decision is a unilateral violation of its international commitments and an attack on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, and called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Similarly, The UK government is expected to announce a package of sanctions on Russian individuals and entities on Tuesday in response to the decision by Moscow to recognise two breakaway republics in the Donbas region of Ukraine.

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