The US has announced a new round of sanctions targeting Russia’s top public and private banks and two daughters of Vladimir Putin, following mounting global accusations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva.
Also hit with new sanctions were the wife and daughter of the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov and members of Russia’s security council, including the former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and the current prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.
“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people. Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin’s war on Ukraine,” the White House said.
“We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden with family members, and that’s why we’re targeting them,” a senior US official told reporters, referring to the two daughters.
The White House also declared “full blocking” sanctions on Russia’s largest public and private financial institutions, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, and said all new US investment in Russia was now prohibited.
New sanctions would be announced on Thursday on key Russian state enterprises, it said, aiming to hamper their ability to trade and move money through the global financial system. » | Jennifer Rankin in Brussels and agencies | Wesnesday, April 6, 2022
