A building damaged by shelling, amid the Russian invasion, in Ukraine's Mykolaiv. (Reuters)
A global sanctions-tracking database released a list on Tuesday, which showed that Russia has become the most-sanctioned country after the Ukraine invasion. The database, Castellum.ai, is a managed search algorithm and workflow and record keeping suite that supports users via an online platform, API and bulk data.
It said that Russia has seen a surge in sanctions by the United States and its European allies starting February 22, days before the Ukraine invasion began.
According to Castellum.ai, Russia became the target of 2,778 new sanctions designations, bringing them to more than 5,530.
The pressure on Russia is increasing every day. A number of American companies - including Netflix and American Express - have suspended operations in Russia.
Putin has described these sanctions as “akin to a declaration of war”.
Here is a list of other countries in the most-sanctioned list of Castellum.ai:
Russia: The country had 2,754 sanctions against it, according to Castellum.ai, before February 22. But as President Vladimir Putin's war rhetoric grew stronger and threats looked real, 2,778 sanctions were added after that date.
Iran: The West Asian country is at number two of the Castellum.ai list, with 3,616 sanctions. These sanctions have been imposed in the last decade over its controversial nuclear program and alleged support of terrorism.
Syria: These are a number of economic sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland over the civil war. Most of these sanctions have been imposed after 2011. According to Castellum.ai list, Syria has 2,608 sanctions against it.
North Korea: The hermit Asian state has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The penalties include punishments against individuals and companies. The Castellum.ai list shows that North Korea has 2,077 sanctions against it.
Venezuela: The South American country has 651 sanctions against it, according to the Castellum.ai list. These sanctions have been imposed by the United States since 2017, on businesses and oil entities associated with the former Maduro regime, both inside and outside of the country.
Myanmar: It has faced sanctions by the United States and other countries over its human rights violations and military coup. In January this year, the one-year anniversary of the coup of Myanmar's democratically elected government, the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated seven individuals and two entities connected to the military regime. Castellum.ai list shows that Myanmar has 510 sanctions against it.
Cuba: It is the last country on the list with 208 sanctions. Cuba has been under US sanctions for more than 60 years, which have affected every aspect of life on the island. The sanctions were imposed by President John F Kennedy to isolate Cuba till it moves towards democratisation and greater respect for human rights.