Russia continues to pay a price for its war with Ukraine.
On Thursday, while speaking to The Economic Club of Washington D.C., national security adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration will crack down on attempted evasion of sanctions levied against Russia.
"I mean, what we have done is unprecedented, in terms of a major economy to take this set of steps across financial sanctions, investment bans, the export controls," said Sullivan, when pressed on whether the U.S. has exhausted the penalties it can impose against Russia. "But where our focus will be in the course of the coming days is on evasion."
Sullivan added: "As Russia tries to adjust to the fact that it's under this massive economic pressure, what steps can they try to evade our sanctions, and how do we crack down on that?"
According to reports, several U.S. House members have already called for the sale or liquidation of Russian assets seized in the sanctions campaign, believing the proceeds should be used for the reconstruction of Ukraine.
Sullivan said the White House will address Russia's possible sanctions evasion "in the next week or two."
Russia has now become the most-sanctioned country in the world, blowing past Iran and North Korea, according to CNBC.
What role might China play in the coming weeks, in terms of either publicly supporting Russia's war efforts, or helping blunt the sanctions? Sullivan said there's no clear-cut answer.
"It's something that we constantly monitor; and of course, we don't have complete visibility all the time," Sullivan said. "Russia and China have an economic relationship, and there is continuing economic intercourse between Russia and China.
"But have we seen a systematic effort to undermine, weaken, or defy sanctions at this point? We have not."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.