It's a sentence (albeit a bit of a run-on). If you omit the part between the long dashes (which act exactly as parentheses), it's perfectly parseable. In simpl

It's a sentence (albeit a bit of a run-on). If you omit the part between the long dashes (which act exactly as parentheses), it's perfectly parseable. In simplified form (subtracting a few subordinate clauses here and there): "Sberbank engaged the Podesta Group to help its image, and specifically to help lift the pain of sanctions placed on Russia, which have caused real pain to the country's financial sector."