The International Working Group on Russian Sanctions

Strengthening Sanctions against the Russian Federation

We have convened a working group of independent, international experts to recommend new economic and other measures to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his invasion of Ukraine as soon as possible and restore Ukraine’s territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Our working group aims to provide expertise and experience to governments and companies around the world by assisting with the formulation of sanctions proposals that will increase the cost to Russia of invading Ukraine, and support democratic Ukraine in the defense of its territorial integrity and national sovereignty. 

Our group applauds the actions that have been taken by dozens of governments around the world to sanction Russian companies and individuals, put in place export controls to Russia on critical technologies, and pressure private companies to stop doing business in Russia. We also applaud the steps that have been taken independently by private companies from around the world to stop trading, investing, and doing business in and with Russia. We welcome the actions taken by multilateral financial institutions to suspend their activities with Russian partners. At the same time, we believe that more – much more – can be done to urgently increase pressure on Putin to withdraw his army from Ukraine. We stand with Ukraine in seeking to stop the flow of revenues that underwrite Russia’s brutal war and atrocities against civilians.

While seeking input from and coordination with numerous governmental officials – including especially from the Government of Ukraine – as well as private companies, all members of our working group participate in their individual capacities. We are united in believing that sanctions on Russia should be expanded as quickly as possible until Putin withdraws Russian armed forces from Ukraine. Some now argue that there is nothing left to do regarding economic pressure on Russia; our working group radically disagrees. Finally, we recognize that tightened sanctions, which impede revenue flows and increase the cost of this war, are not a substitute for military and humanitarian assistance, diplomacy, or other foreign policy instruments that should be debated and pursued separately. Our focus here is just on one aspect of the larger, international strategy needed to help end this horrific war. 

Working Group Members
 

Economists for Ukraine (econ4ua.org) is a group of economists with expertise in macroeconomics, finance, behavioral economics, public finance, innovation, and game theory, organized by Ukrainian-American Economists (Tania Babina, Tetyna Balyuk, Tatyana Deryugina, Anastassia Fedyk, Yuriy Gorodnichenko, James Hodson, Ilona Sologub) to help end Russia’s war in Ukraine. Our group works to raise awareness about important issues with regards to stopping Russian aggression, as well as future consequences, new sanctions to impose on Russia, coordination with international organizations about economic policy responses, humanitarian efforts, a Marshall plan to rebuild Ukraine, and opportunities for Ukrainian scholars and students abroad.