Following the recent Russian-Ukraine war, 2022-2023, in the wake of its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world ahead of Iran and Syria. It has about  16,077 sanctions on Russian individuals and entities currently in place, almost six times the amount compared to before the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were recognized as Independent States on February 22, 2022.

According to Statista, a chart based on data aggregated by Castellum.AI shows that Putin’s invasion has pushed Russia past one of the United States’ biggest nemeses in Western Asia.

The Islamic State of Iran was by far the most-sanctioned State in history, with 3,616 active sanctions by the United States, the United Nations, the EU and countries like Australia, Canada, India and Israel, all before the invasion of Ukraine.

In recent development, the relationship between the Israel and the Islamic Republic has been especially fraught, with disputes surrounding Iran’s atomic arsenal and its general hostile stance towards Israel threatening to escalate regularly.

Ranking third on Castellum.AI’s list, the majority of the sanctions imposed on Syria originate  from the events surrounding the Syrian civil war which started in 2011.

Following civil unrest in connection with the Arab Spring movement, clashes between President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and an unlikely coalition of foreign and domestic actors often opposed on critical issues led to a humanitarian crisis and the internal and foreign displacement of more than half of Syria’s 22 million inhabitants over the years.

Topping the current round of sanctions against Russia are the United States, Canada, Switzerland and the United Kingdom with 3,551, 2,765, 2,225 and 1,749 restrictions, respectively.

The majority of those sanctions target individuals (11,462), while entities have 4,344 sanctions against them, vessels have 169 and aircraft 102. Not included in these figures are sectoral sanctions like general trade embargos on gas or oil.

In addition to the sanctions laid by Natiom-States and Giverning Bodies, over 1000 companies have also withdrawn from the Russian market according to Yale School of Management Researchers. Some of these industries include, Adidas, Google, Disney, Exxon or Volkswagen.

Credit: Statista

ALSO READ: Gunmen in Ecuador Hijack Live TV Program, Injure 2