US imposes visa restrictions on Russian military officers

The State Department has imposed a new round of visa restrictions on Russian military officers in response to Moscow’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. 

In a statement on Sunday, the department said it has imposed visa restrictions on 2,609 Russian and Belarusian military officers who have participated in the ongoing conflict with Ukraine. 

The department also imposed visa restrictions on the family and friends of three Belarusian officials Dzmitry Paulichenka, Yury Sivakov, and Viktar Sheiman, saying that their families are barred from entering the country. 

“Under this authority, immediate family members are also ineligible for entry to the United States, to include Viktar Sheiman’s wife, Elena Sheiman, and his adult son, Sergei Sheiman,” the department said in its statement. 

The department also said in its statement that it plans to sanction eight Russian maritime-related companies which include Russia’s Ministry of Defense’s shipping company, Oboronlogistika OOO, which played a role in Moscow’s annexation of the Crimea peninsula in 2014. 

The other maritime companies sanctioned included SC South LLC, Joint Stock Company Northern Shipping Company (Northern Shipping), Transmorflot LLC, M Leasing LLC, and Marine Trans Shipping LLC. 

The department also added that it took action against 69 vessels that the maritime companies use as well, the statement noted. 

“The Department of State is also designating one maritime engineering company that works with the GoR and Russian state-owned entities,” the department said. “This action serves as a warning to private Russian companies that those who support Putin’s war machine risk severe costs.”

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began last February, has killed thousands on both sides and displaced more than 5.8 million Ukrainian citizens.