Last year, on December 19, 2014, President Barack Obama issued an executive order banning U.S. exports of goods, technology or services to Ukraine’s Crimea region. The previous day, Mr. Obama signed the Ukraine Freedom Support Act that increased sanctions against Russia and authorized him to send lethal aid to Ukraine.
On December 19, Mr. Obama announced the new measures and called for Russia to end its annexation of the region and the U.S. Treasury Department named 17 entities that were blacklisted under the order.
Canada also announced new sanctions against Russia over its actions in Ukraine, including additional restrictions on the export of technology used in the oil and gas industry. Sanctions were also applied against 11 Russians and nine Ukrainians.
Similarly, the European Union banned some investment in Crimea, halted support for Russia’s gas and oil exploration in the region, stopped European companies from purchasing real estate in Crimea or offering tourism services. The EU also sanctioned individuals associated with the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics.” Other countries that adopted sanctions against Russia were Norway, Australia, Japan, Georgia, Switzerland, Iceland, Moldova, New Zealand, French Guyana and Greenland, as well as the principality of Monaco.
This year, Ukraine’s government on December 16 announced that it would ban trade with Crimea within 30 days of the announcement. The only exceptions would be humanitarian aid, personal items and socially important foods. Russia has responded with the laying of undersea electrical cables to the annexed peninsula after activists in Ukraine cut off power to Crimea with the destruction of transmission pylons in November.
Source: ”Obama bans U.S. trade with Crimea, European Union and Canada also announce new sanctions,” (RFE/RL), The Ukrainian Weekly, December 28, 2014-January 4, 2015.