2014
March 3
The United States suspends trade and investment talks with Russia as well as military-to-military cooperation.
Reason: Ukraine
March 17
The EU imposes visa restrictions and asset freezes on 21 Russian and Ukrainian/Crimean officials.
Reason: Ukraine
March 17
The United States imposes visa restrictions and asset freezes on 11 Russian officials, including the speaker of the Federal Council Valentina Matviyenko, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, and presidential aide Vladislav Surkov.
Reason: Ukraine
March 20
EU-Russia summit cancelled.
Reason: Ukraine
March 20
Moscow bars nine U.S. officials from entering Russia in response to American sanctions on itself and Crimea. Those sanctioned include former House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Senator John McCain.
Reason: Ukraine
March 20
Sixteen Russian officials and Bank Rossia added to the U.S. Treasury sanctions list.
Reason: Ukraine
March 21
Twelve individuals added to the EU sanctions list: the speaker of the Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko; presidential adviser Sergei Glazyev; Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin; State Duma speaker Sergei Naryshkin; the head of the Rossia Segodnya news agency Dmitry Kiselyov, Deputy-Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral Aleksandr Nosatov; Deputy-Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Rear Admiral Valery Kulikov; presidential aide Vladislav Surkov; Crimea Electoral Commission Chair Mikhail Malyshev; Sevastopol Electoral Commission Chair Valery Medvedev; the commander of Russian forces in Crimea, Lieutenant General Igor Turchenyuk; and State Duma deputy Yelena Mizulina.
Reason: Ukraine
March 25
EU embassies in Russia ordered not to issue visas to residents of Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
March 27
The United States announces a ban on the issuance of export licenses for defense products or services to Russia.
Reason: Ukraine
March 28
Russia announces it has imposed a ban on entering Russia on more officials from the United States and other countries in response to Western visa bans and asset freezes, but does not disclose the names of the designated individuals or how many of them there are.
Reason: Ukraine
March 28
Bilateral U.S.-Russia presidential commission is reported to have been temporarily suspended.
Reason: Ukraine
April 2014
Ukraine Crisis Begins
On April 7, pro-Russian protestors storm and barricade the offices of Ukraine's security service, the SBU, in the eastern cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. This effectively marked the beginning of the Ukraine Crisis which has continued until this day. (Photo: AFP)
April 11
Seven Crimean officials and the Crimean Chernomorneftegaz oil company are added to the U.S. Treasury sanctions list.
Reason: Ukraine
April 28
The EU imposes sanctions on 15 individuals, including Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s General Staff.
Reason: Ukraine
April 28
Sanctions imposed on seven individuals and 17 companies linked to President Vladimir Putin. Restrictions placed on Russia’s import of U.S. goods deemed to contribute to its military capabilities.
Reason: Ukraine
May 12
Thirteen individuals as well as Chernomorneftegaz and Feodosia, two Crimean energy companies that were expropriated by the de facto authorities on the peninsula, are added to the EU sanctions list. This brings the total number of Russian and Ukrainian nationals targeted with EU asset freezes and visa bans to 61.
Reason: Ukraine
June 20
The U.S. Treasury imposes sanctions on seven separatists, including military commander Igor Strelkov.
Reason: Ukraine
July 12
The EU imposes sanctions on 11 more individuals.
Reason: Ukraine
July 16
The U.S. Treasury imposes sanctions on two major banks (Gazprombank and VEB) and energy companies (Novatek and Rosneft), eight arms companies including the Kalashnikov concern, and several officials and separatists.
Reason: Ukraine
July 17, 2014
MH17 Shot Down
Malaysia Airlines flight 17 is shot down over the conflict zone in Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board are killed. (Photo: AFP)
July 18
European Investment Bank suspends funding for projects in Russia.
Reason: Ukraine
July 26
EU adds 15 individuals and 18 entities to sanctions list, bringing the total to 87 individuals and 20 organizations. Individuals added in this round include Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the director of Russia’s FSB security service, Aleksandr Bortnikov.
Reason: Ukraine
July 29
The United States imposes sanctions aimed at sectors of the Russian economy, including armaments, energy, and finance. Those specifically targeted include VTB, Bank of Moscow, and the Russian Agricultural Bank.
Reason: Ukraine
July 29
EU restricts access to capital markets for Russian state-owned banks, imposes an embargo on trade in arms, and restricts exports of dual-use goods and sensitive technologies, especially in the oil sector.
Reason: Ukraine
July 29
Eight individuals and three entities added to the EU sanctions list. The list now includes the Russian National Commercial Bank, defense manufacturer Almaz-Antey, and Dobrolet, a subsidiary of Aeroflot. A partial ban is also imposed on investment in Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
July 31
EU adds Arkady Rotenberg, Yury Kovalchuk, and Nikolai Shamalov, three Putin “cronies,” as well as Putin’s first deputy chief of staff, Aleksei Gromov, and Bank Rossia to the sanctions blacklist.
Reason: Ukraine
August 6
The United States places restrictions on the export of various oil and gas technologies to Russia.
Reason: Ukraine
August 6
Russia bans the import of most foodstuffs from the United States, the EU, and other countries that imposed sanctions on it.
Reason: Ukraine
September 12
Financing of Rosneft, Transneft, and Gazpromneft banned. Loans to five Russian state banks restricted. Financing of Uralvagonzavod, Oboronprom, and United AIrcraft Corporation (defense manufacturers) banned. Nine Russian defense concerns and 24 individuals added to sanctions list.
Reason: Ukraine
September 12
The U.S. Treasury bans U.S. companies from supplying goods and technologies to Gazprom, Lukoil, Transneft, Gazprom Neft, Surgutneftegaz, Novatek, and Rosneft. Assets of five Russian defense companies frozen, including Almaz-Antey. Capital market restrictions imposed on six Russian banks: Sberbank, Bank of Moscow, Gazprombank, Russian Agricultural Bank, VTB, and Vneshekonombank.
Reason: Ukraine
December 19
Export of goods and services to Crimea banned; imports from Crimea banned.
Reason: Ukraine
December 20
Export of goods and services to Crimea banned, imports from Crimea banned.
Reason: Ukraine
2015
February 11, 2015
Minsk II Talks Begin
The leaders of the Russia-backed so-called 'Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics,' Igor Plotnitsky (left) and Alexander Zakharchenko leaving Ukraine peace talks at the Palace of Independence in Minsk, Belarus. (Oksana Manchuk/BelTA/TASS, February 12, 2015)
February 16
Nineteen individuals and nine entities added to the EU sanctions list, including the Sparta, Somali, Zarya, Oplot, Kalmius, and Smert’ separatist battalions, as well as Russian singer and lawmaker Iosif Kobzon.
Reason: Ukraine
March 4
All U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia in 2014 extended by one year.
Reason: Ukraine
March 11
The United States imposes sanctions on 14 individuals, the Russian National Commercial Bank, and the Eurasian Union of Youth.
Reason: Ukraine
March 14
EU sanctions against 151 individuals and 37 entities extended until September 15, 2015.
Reason: Ukraine
June 22
EU economic sanctions against Russia extended to January 31, 2016.
Reason: Ukraine
June 24
Law allowing punishments for foreign banks doing business with sanctioned Russian individuals and entities comes into force.
Reason: Ukraine
June 24
Russia extends food import ban to August 6, 2016 in response to EU extension.
Reason: Ukraine
July 30
The U.S. Treasury sanctions 11 individuals and 15 entities.
Reason: Ukraine
August 7
The United States imposes sanctions on the Yuzhno-Kirinskoye oil field.
Reason: Ukraine
September 14
EU visa bans and asset freezes against 149 individuals and 37 entities are extended until March 15, 2016. People who have died are excluded from the list.
Reason: Ukraine
December 21
EU economic sanctions against Russia extended to July 31, 2016.
Reason: Ukraine
December 22
The U.S. Treasury targets 34 individuals and entities for sanctions.
Reason: Ukraine
2016
March 2
The United States extends economic sanctions by one year.
Reason: Ukraine
March 10
EU sanctions against 146 individuals and 37 entities extended to September 15, 2016.
Reason: Ukraine
June 17
EU sanctions on Crimea extended to June 23, 2017.
Reason: Ukraine
June 1
EU economic sanctions extended to January 31, 2017.
Reason: Ukraine
August 6
Russia extends food import ban to December 31, 2017.
Reason: Ukraine
September 1
The United States designates 17 individuals and a number of entities for sanctions, mostly local subsidiaries of Gazprom.
Reason: Ukraine
September 6
The United States adds 11 entities to its sanctions list. The list now includes 81 entities in total.
Reason: Ukraine
September 15
EU sanctions against 146 individuals and 37 entities extended to March 2017.
Reason: Ukraine
September 28, 2016
Missile From Russia Blamed For MH17 Tragedy
An international criminal investigation into the MH17 tragedy in eastern Ukraine in 2014 determines that Malaysia Airlines flight 17 was shot down by a Buk antiaircraft missile fired from separatist-controlled territory in Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)
November 9
The EU imposes visa bans and asset freezes on 6 Duma lawmakers from Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
November 15
The United States imposes sanctions on six Duma lawmakers from Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
December 19
EU extends economic sanctions to July 31, 2017.
Reason: Ukraine
December 20
The United States imposes visa bans and asset freezes on seven individuals and a number of companies involved in construction and logistics in Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
December 23
The United States designates 23 Russian companies for sanctions.
Reason: Ukraine
2017
January 13
U.S. economic sanctions extended by one year.
Reason: Ukraine
15 March
EU sanctions against 150 individuals and 37 entities extended by six months.
Reason: Ukraine
June 19
EU sanctions on Crimea extended to June 23, 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
June 20
The United States imposes sanctions on 38 individuals and entities, including the military company PMC Wagner.
Reason: Ukraine
June 29
Economic sanctions extended to January 31, 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
July 5
Russia extends food import ban to end of 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
August 4
EU designates three Russian citizens and three companies for sanctions in connection with the delivery of Siemens gas turbines to Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
August 31, 2017
Closing Of Russian Consulate In California
The United States orders the closure of Russia’s consulate in San Francisco. Two other diplomatic buildings in Washington and New York used as trade annexes will also be shuttered. (Photo: AFP)
September 14
Sanctions against 149 individuals and 38 entities extended to March 15, 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
November 21
The EU imposes sanctions on Dmitry Ovsyannikov, the Russia-installed governor of Sevastopol.
Reason: Ukraine
December 22
EU extends economic sanctions on Russia to July 31, 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
2018
January 26
The United States imposes sanctions on 21 individuals and nine companies.
Reason: Ukraine
January 30
The United States publishes the “Kremlin dossier,” a list of 210 people close to Vladimir Putin who might be designated for sanctions. The list includes all members of the Russian government, members of the presidential administration, heads of state firms, “siloviki” (former and current state-security officers), and oligarchs.
Reason: Elections
March 2
U.S. economic sanctions extended by one year.
Reason: Ukraine
March 4, 2018
Skripal Poisoning
Sergei and Yulia Skripal are found unconscious on March 4 on a bench in the southern English town of Salisbury. They were seriously ill but later made a full recovery after spending several weeks in a hospital. British authorities determined that the Skripals had been poisoned with Novichok, a military-grade chemical weapon that was developed in the Soviet Union. (Photo: AFP)
March 12
EU sanctions against 150 individuals and 38 organizations extended to 15 September 2018.
Reason: Ukraine
March 14
The United Kingdom orders 23 Russian diplomats, who Theresa May said were identified as “undeclared intelligence officers,” to leave the country after accusing Moscow of using a nerve agent in the attempted murder of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal on British soil.
Reason: Skripal
March 15
The United States makes first use of CATSAA law to impose sanctions on 19 Russians, including 13 indicted in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Moscow’s alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential election and Internet Research LLC, commonly known as the Russian “troll factory.”
Reason: Elections
March 17
Russia declares 23 British diplomats personae non gratae.
Reason: Skripal
March 26
More than 20 Western states order dozens of Russian diplomats expelled, including 60 from the United States, which also ordered Russia to close its consulate in Seattle.
Reason: Skripal
March 29
Russia orders 60 U.S. diplomats to leave the country.
Reason: Skripal
March 30
Russia orders diplomats from 16 EU countries out.
Reason: Skripal
April 6
The United States designates 38 Russian businessmen for visa bans and asset freezes to punish Russian “malign activity” worldwide.
Reason: Syria
May 14
The EU imposes visa bans and asset freezes on 5 individuals linked to Russian presidential elections in Crimea.
Reason: Ukraine
June 18
EU sanctions on Crimea extended to June 23, 2019.
Reason: Ukraine
July 9
EU economic sanctions on Russia extended to January 31, 2019.
Reason: Ukraine
July 5
Russia extends food import ban to end of 2019.
Reason: Ukraine
July 31
The EU sanctions six companies involved in the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge.
Reason: Ukraine
August 27
The United States imposes a ban on arms sales, arms-sales financing, U.S. government credit or other financial assistance, exports of national-security-sensitive goods, and most foreign assistance to Russia under the terms of the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Elimination Act.
Reason: Skripal
September 13
EU individual and corporate sanctions extended until March 15, 2019.
Reason: Ukraine