Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014, as amended (SSIDES; P.L. 113-95; 22 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.)
Regime
OFAC country specific
Target State
Russia
Measures
Blocking Property, Suspending Entry
Official Information
In addition to issuing four Ukraine-related executive orders in 2014, President Obama signed into law the Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act (SSIDES) on April 3, 2014, and the Ukraine Freedom Support Act (UFSA) on December 18, 2014. SSIDES was introduced in the Senate on March 12, 2014, six days after President Obama issued the first Ukraine-related E.O., declaring a national emergency with respect to Ukraine. The President signed UFSA into law the day before he issued his fourth Ukraine-related E.O., prohibiting trade and investment with occupied Crimea. CRIEEA, which President Trump signed into law on August 2, 2017, amended SSIDES and UFSA, among other measures (see Table 1 and “Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017” text box, below).
Both SSIDES and UFSA expand on the actions the Obama Administration took in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. President Obama did not cite SSIDES or UFSA as an authority for designations or other sanctions actions, however.23 The Trump Administration issued three human rights-related designations pursuant to SSIDES.
Some sanctions authorities in SSIDES and UFSA overlap with steps taken by the President in issuing E.O.s under emergency authorities. Many individuals and entities OFAC designated for their role in destabilizing Ukraine, for example, could have been designated pursuant to SSIDES. Similarly, some of the individuals OFAC designated in April 2018 as “oligarchs and elites who profit from [Russia’s] corrupt system” potentially could have been designated pursuant to the authority in SSIDES that provides for sanctions against those responsible for significant corruption.24 In addition, Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, subject to sanctions under UFSA, is subject to sanctions under other authorities (see “Weapons Proliferation”).
SSIDES and UFSA contain additional sanctions provisions that the executive branch could use. These include sanctions against Russian individuals and entities for corruption, arms transfers to Syria and separatist territories, and energy export cutoffs. They also include potentially wide- reaching secondary sanctions against foreign individuals and entities that facilitate significant transactions for Russia sanctions designees, help them to evade sanctions, or make significant investments in certain oil projects in Russia (for details, see Appendix C).
