At the sensitive moment when the Russia - Ukraine war entered its second year and the unfortunate death of Alexei Navalny, the leader of the Russian opposition, the US government took a series of unprecedented sanctions, marking a further escalation of pressure on Russia. On February 23, 2024, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury announced a sanctions list of nearly 300 individuals and entities. Together with the actions of the US State Department, the total number of sanctioned targets exceeded 500. These sanctions covered major sectors of Russias financial infrastructure, as well as third - party actors in more than 20 countries in Europe, East Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East that assisted in evading sanctions, and also included hundreds of entities in Russias military - industrial bases and other key sectors.

The introduction of these sanctions is a continuation of a series of economic and political pressures exerted by the US on Russia in response to the Russia - Ukraine war and the death of Navalny. It is worth noting that in this round of sanctions, among the third - party entities involved in helping Russia evade sanctions, six entities were related to China. This indicates that when cracking down on Russias evasion of sanctions, the US also turned its attention to Russias global partners. This action may trigger a series of diplomatic and economic chain reactions, affecting countries and regions with deep cooperative relations with Russia. By sanctioning Russias finance, military - industry, and individuals and entities related to sanctions evasion, the US aims to weaken Russias war machine and limit its war - making capabilities.