U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Friday to bolster U.S. sanctions against financial institutions that aid Russia's defense industry in its war against Ukraine. The order allows the U.S. Treasury to target banks in countries like China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere that may be helping Russia evade sanctions.
The U.S. expects financial institutions to ensure that they "are not witting or unwitting facilitators" of the Russian military, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement Friday about the new executive order.
Most major financial institutions are adhering to U.S. sanctions aimed at preventing Russia from acquiring materials needed for its war effort, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a TV interview Friday on CNBC.
The executive order was signed days after the European Union adopted its 12th round of sanctions against Russia, which included dozens of companies and individuals linked to Russian aggression against Ukraine, a ban on Russian diamonds, and tighter controls on the $60-per-barrel oil price cap.
The order comes as the Kremlin is trying to restock the Russian military's depleted arsenal after nearly 22 months of fighting in Ukraine. Russia has lost more than 13,000 pieces of equipment, including tanks, drones and missile systems.
Russia hit back against Washington's sanctions, saying they could lead to a rupture of diplomatic ties between Russia and the U.S.
The United States "must not act under an illusion ... that Russia is clinging with both hands to diplomatic relations with that country," the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying Friday.
Some Western politicians are urging that frozen Russian assets worth about $300 billion be given to Ukraine to help rebuild its war-shattered economy.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Friday that any such move would impair the global financial system.
He said Russia would "never leave in peace" any country that seized its assets, and in such a scenario it would take retaliatory measures confiscating any Western assets it could.
Jets to Ukraine
The Netherlands will deliver 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the Dutch government said Friday.
The delivery of the fighter jets will take place after an export permit is issued by the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry and after Ukraine fulfills the criteria for its staff and infrastructure, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said, without offering a timeline for these decisions.
The announcement made it possible to reserve funds, though, and to prepare planes for delivery, the government said.
"I spoke with Mark Rutte to thank the Dutch government for its decision to start preparing the initial 18 F-16 jets for their delivery to Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday on social media platform X.
The Netherlands sent its first U.S.-made F-16s to a new training facility in Romania last month for Ukrainian pilots and staff.
Denmark, Norway and Belgium also have announced they will give F-16 jets to Ukraine after the U.S. government approved sending them as soon as pilot training is completed.
Ukrainian-Polish talks
Ukraine and Poland said Friday they were ready to try to resolve "problematic" issues in their relations, especially after a Polish truckers' blockade at border crossings between the two countries.
During a meeting in Kyiv, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Polish counterpart, Radoslaw Sikorski, pledged to resolve the differences between their countries.
An air raid siren sounded during a news conference by the two men in Kyiv, which was targeted by another large-scale Russian drone attack overnight.
"This alarm you hear is the reason why I am here. It is unacceptable ... in this titanic fight, Poland is on your side," Sikorski said.
The Ukrainian capital was attacked by a barrage of Russian drones early Friday, officials said, injuring at least two people in the sixth drone attack on the city this month.
Ukraine said it shot down 24 of the 28 Iranian-made drones Russia launched toward Kyiv.
Russia said its air defenses intercepted five Ukrainian drones south of Moscow in less than an hour Friday.
The defense ministry said four were intercepted over the Kaluga region and a fifth was destroyed inside the Moscow region. According to Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, fragments of the drone had fallen in the city of Podolsk, but no casualties or damage had been reported.
Ukraine said Thursday that Russia had launched about 7,400 missiles and 3,700 Iranian-made Shahed drones at targets across Ukraine during the 22-month war.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
