Congress has published a new version of the draft bipartisan bill of proposed “crushing” sanctions on Russia, the Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act (DASKA), introduced by Senators Lindsey Graham, Bob Menendez, Cory Gardner, Ben Cardin, and Jeanne Shaheen that was first submitted on February 13. This is the first look at the legislation itself, reports BMB in an emailed note. 

“The text of DASKA 2019 does not contain many surprises. It focuses largely on preventing the US’ withdrawal from Nato, stopping the spread of chemical weapons, and fighting cybercrime,” BMB said in a note.

The sections specifically focused on Russia consist primarily of additions to the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) proposed last year.

These include sanctions on individuals close to Putin, the Russian cyber sector, new issuances of sovereign debt, banks involved in election interference, and certain energy projects – including sanctions designed to prevent Russia from developing LNG projects outside of Russia (of which there are none at the moment). The restrictions on Russian LNG projects outside of Russia are the main new direction for US sanctions.

There is also a specific section covering sanctions in response to Russia’s actions against Ukraine following a naval clash between Russian and Ukrainian ships on the Sea of Azov last November.

“That said, there is no guarantee that the bill will pass as is. Expect some of these provisions, particularly those targeting Russian oil production, to get watered down before passage,” adds BMB.

BMB made a useful list of changes and additions to the new legislation from the previous version DASKA 2018:

• Addition: DASKA 2019 prohibits investment in Russia’s ability to construct liquefied natural gas export facilities outside of Russia. Russia currently does not have any LNG terminals outside of the country, but this will make it harder for firms like Rosneft and Gazprom to develop them in Egypt, Mozambique, and Iran.
• Addition: Within 90 days of passage and every 180 days thereafter, the State Department will certify whether Russia has interfered with the freedom of navigation in the Kerch Strait or elsewhere. If it has, entities in Russia’s shipbuilding sector will be subject to the same sanctions as an individual included on the specially designated nationals (SDN) list.
• Addition: The president will impose sanctions on 24 senior FSB officers in response to Russia’s detention of 24 Ukrainian navy men.
• Change: The president will name which banks, if any, to sanction for their support of Russian election meddling. The previous legislation named seven particular state-owned banks, so this change represents a softening of legislation.