After Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized military action in Ukraine and recognized two regions claimed by separatist groups as independent countries, much of the rest of the world announced harsh sanctions against Russia.
President Joe Biden said Feb. 22 that U.S. sanctions against Russia would "take robust action and make sure the pain of our sanctions is targeted at the Russian economy, not ours."
But the global economic system is tightly interwoven.
According to the U.S. International Trade Administration, Russia imported more than $1.5 billion in medical devices in 2018, the most recent data available. Orthopedic and prosthetic devices accounted for more than $360 million of that total, and six major U.S. medical device manufacturers sell to the Russian market: Johnson & Johnson, G.E. Healthcare, Medtronic, Varian, Baxter and Stryker.
Russia is among the world's top exporters of oil, natural gas, copper, aluminum, palladium and other important commodities, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity. China is Russia's top supplier of imports, with mobile phones, computers, telecommunications gear and electronics parts among the top categories.