WASHINGTON, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The United States will directly warn companies against evading U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia over the war in Ukraine, Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said, as Washington seeks to further squeeze Russia's economy. "We're going to go directly to their companies and make very clear to their companies that you have a choice," Adeyemo said. The comments come amid signs that Russia's economy was not hit as heavily as initially expected by western sanctions. The International Monetary Fund last month forecast that Russia's economy would expand by 0.3% in 2023 after shrinking by 2.2% in 2022. "Russia's economy is very small, relative to our coalition, and getting smaller because of the actions that we've taken."

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