Blocking Property of Certain Persons and Prohibiting Certain Transactions With Respect to Continued Russian Efforts To Undermine the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine
The order immediately bans new U.S. investment in, and trade with, the Russian-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, blocks the U.S. assets of individuals operating there, and bars their entry into the United States.
It expands the national emergency first declared in 2014 over Russia's actions in Ukraine, invoking emergency economic powers in direct response to Russia's recognition of those occupied territories as independent — a step the order calls an unusual and extraordinary threat to U.S. national security.
What this order does
What it orders
The order directs immediate prohibitions on: new U.S. investment in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) regions of Ukraine; importation into the United States of any goods, services, or technology from those regions; and exportation or supply of any goods, services, or technology to them. It also blocks all U.S.-held property and assets of any person determined by the Treasury Secretary to operate in, lead an entity in, or materially support activity in those regions, and suspends entry into the United States of any such designated persons. The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to designate additional regions of Ukraine for coverage in consultation with the Secretary of State.
The prohibitions take effect immediately upon signing. Prior notice to designated persons is explicitly waived to prevent asset transfers before sanctions are imposed. Standard carve-outs apply for official U.S. government business, and the Secretary of the Treasury may issue licenses or regulations to authorize specific transactions.
Who it affects
U.S. persons — citizens, permanent residents, U.S.-organized entities, and anyone physically in the United States — who invest in, trade with, or financially support persons operating in the DNR or LNR regions. Foreign nationals designated as operating in those regions lose access to U.S. assets and cannot enter the United States.
Why it matters
U.S. businesses or individuals with financial ties to the DNR or LNR regions face immediate legal exposure: existing contracts are voided, assets can be frozen, and new transactions are banned. Foreign nationals linked to those regions can be locked out of the U.S. financial system and denied entry without prior warning.
What must happen and when
How the order is supposed to work
Treasury, in consultation with State, is the primary enforcement engine: it designates individuals and entities for asset blocking, issues licenses for permitted transactions, and promulgates implementing regulations. No prior notice to designees is required. All federal agencies must take appropriate implementing measures within their own authorities. State and DHS implement the entry-suspension provision through their respective visa and border-control procedures, with case-by-case exceptions allowed when entry would serve U.S. law enforcement objectives.
Actions and deadlines
- Secretary of the Treasury to designate persons operating in Covered Regions for asset blocking
- Secretary of State to establish visa implementation procedures under the entry suspension
- Secretary of Homeland Security to establish entry-ban implementation procedures for noncitizens
- Secretary of the Treasury to promulgate rules and regulations implementing the order's prohibitions