The Countries Sanctioning Russia

Switzerland has long had close economic ties to Russia, but it abandoned its usual reserve (it maintained a neutral stance during World War II) with its decision earlier this year to follow the European Union in freezing the assets of Russian companies and elites. As of December, the country has frozen nearly $8 billion worth of Russian assets. However, the country’s secretive banking system was holding up to $213 billion in Russian wealth as of March, according to an estimate by the country’s financial industry association.

Canada is second to the United States in having the highest number of sanctions against Russia. It also targets certain entities and individuals in Belarus and Ukraine for their support of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Canada has both autonomous sanctions and multilateral sanctions through its membership in the G7. In December, it announced additional sanctions targeting 33 former senior Russian officials for “gross and systemic human rights violations” against Russian anti-war activists.

The United States has imposed the most sanctions against Russia. The U.S. accounts for about 20% of the sanctions imposed on Russia among the countries with the highest number of sanctions. In September, the U.S. announced a new series of sanctions against top Russian officials, including hundreds of members of the Russian legislature and central bank, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that some Ukrainian provinces had become part of Russia.