New sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Kingdom on Russia

On February 23, the second anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the United States and the United Kingdom announced new sanctions against nearly 100 Russian companies. The new sanctions announced by the United States mainly target the mining and metallurgical industries, especially the coal mining industry. SUEK and Mechel, the largest coal producers in Russia, have been included in the SDN (Special Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons) list A792 Grade 70(480) steel.

Former SUEK shareholder Andrey Melnichenko became a target of European sanctions in 2022 and was removed from the company's shareholder list. TMK, the largest pipeline manufacturer in Russia, and its subsidiaries have also been included in the sanctions list. After the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, TMK founder Dmitry Pumpyanskiy was included in the sanctions list by the European Union and the United Kingdom, and later transferred his company shares to management.

Other sanctions imposed by the United States include Konstantin Strukov and his company Yuzhuralzoloto, former ChTPZ owner Andrei Komarov and his assets Bystrinskaya Mining, Fedorovo Resources, and oil field service equipment manufacturer Rimera. In addition, companies related to Roman Trotsenko, AEON Mining (coal mining companies in Vorkutaugol and Taimyr) and Geoprocessing, are also included in the SDN list A792 Grade 70(480) steel.

Being listed on the sanctions list means that payments cannot be made in US dollars, and all contractors may face secondary sanctions from the United States, which has a negative impact on foreign trade operations. In the 2020 report, Mechel stated that the European and American markets accounted for 13% of its revenue. TMK's 2021 report shows that the European and American markets account for 9.5% of its revenue. With Russia implementing a coal embargo in August 2022, SUEK lost its exports to Europe, and now China has become its main market.

The UK has also expanded sanctions against Russia and Belarus. The targets of sanctions include UGMK, ALROSA management and NOVATEK board members, Megher Chairman Igor Zyuzin, Arctic LNG-2 and its President Oleg Karpushin, Samara Metallurgical Plant and Kamensk Uralsky Metallurgical Plant, Anatoly Sedykh, Chairman of United Metallurgical Company, Pavel Marinychev, CEO of ALROSA, AGD Diamonds, and Almaznuy Mir A792 Grade 70(480) steel.