Biden Administration Issues New Sanctions Executive Order For Donetsk, Luhansk

Yesterday, President Biden issued an executive order (EO) prohibiting US persons from engaging in new investment, trade, and financing in Donetsk and Luhansk — two Russian-backed separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine. The restrictions come after President Putin signed two decrees earlier in the day recognizing the independence of the self-proclaimed separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and the Luhansk People's Republic (LNR).

The EO largely mirrors the current sanctions regime in the Crimea Region of Ukraine, which prohibits the following:

1. New investment in DNR or LNR regions of Ukraine by a US person, wherever located;
2. The importation into the United States, directly or indirectly, of any goods, services, or technology from the DNR or LNR;