After Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of eastern Ukraine, on February 23 local time, the European Council formally adopted a series of sanctions against Russia, which came into effect on the 23rd. The sanctions target 351 members of the Russian State Duma, the lower house of the federal parliament, as well as 27 individuals and entities. Compared with the United States and the United Kingdom, the EU sanctions are broader in scope and more severe.
According to the list released by the EU, the sanctioned persons include Russian Defense Minister Shoigu, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova and many other senior Russian officials, the commander-in-chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force and other senior generals, and the editor-in-chief of Russia Today (RT) and other media personnel. and entities such as banks. Putin is not currently on the sanctions list.
High-ranking officials in Russia: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu; Russian Presidential Chief of Staff Anton Vaino; Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova; Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Regional Development Marat Husnulin; Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government Dmitry Yurievich Grigorenko; Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Gennadyevich Reshetniko husband.
Senior Russian generals: Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Anatolyevich Yevmenov; Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov; Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov; Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovkin; Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Sergei Dronov; Igor Vladimirovich Osipov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Russian media and parliamentarians: Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russia Today (RT); Vladimir Rudovich Soloviev, reporter for Russia Channel 1 and Russia Channel 24; Russian news website (MediaGroup Konstantin Knylik, head of News Front Ltd); Peter Tolstoy, Russian journalist and producer; Alexei Konstantinovich Pugh, member of the United Russia party and chairman of the Information Policy Committee Shkov.
Russian companies and banks: Denis Alexandrovich Boltnikov, Vice President of VTB Bank and Chairman of the Board of Management of VTB; VTB Bank Andrei Leonidovich Kostin, Chairman of the Management Board; Violeta Prigozna, Owner, Concord Management and Consulting; Owner, Agat LLC, a Concord subsidiary Lyubov Valentinovna Prigorzhna; Chairman of the State Development Group VEB.RF and Member of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission Igor Shuvalov.
The 351 members of the Russian State Duma voted for Putin to recognize “Donetsk” and “Luhansk” as independent states on the 15th.
Several high-ranking officials in Russia: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu; Russian Presidential Chief of Staff Anton Vaino; Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova; Russian Deputy Prime Minister for Construction and Regional Development Marat Husnulin; Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government Dmitry Yurievich Grigorenko; Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Gennadyevich Reshetniko husband.
Senior Russian generals: Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Nikolai Anatolyevich Yevmenov; Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vladimir Lvovich Kasatonov; Russian Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleg Leonidovich Salyukov; Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army Aerospace Forces Sergei Surovkin; Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Air Force and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Aerospace Forces Sergei Dronov; Igor Vladimirovich Osipov, commander-in-chief of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Russian media and parliamentarians: Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of Russia Today (RT); Vladimir Rudovich Soloviev, reporter for Russia Channel 1 and Russia Channel 24; Russian news website (MediaGroup Konstantin Knylik, head of News Front Ltd); Peter Tolstoy, Russian journalist and producer; Alexei Konstantinovich Pugh, member of the United Russia party and chairman of the Information Policy Committee Shkov.
Russian companies and banks: Denis Alexandrovich Boltnikov, Vice President of VTB Bank and Chairman of the Board of Management of VTB; VTB Bank Andrei Leonidovich Kostin, Chairman of the Management Board; Violeta Prigozna, Owner, Concord Management and Consulting; Owner, Agat LLC, a Concord subsidiary Lyubov Valentinovna Prigorzhna; Chairman of the State Development Group VEB.RF and Member of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission Igor Shuvalov.
The 351 members of the Russian State Duma voted for Putin to recognize “Donetsk” and “Luhansk” as independent states on the 15th.
The sanctions also targeted the Bank of Russia, Promsviyaz Bank, the Russian state development group VEB.RF, and the Internet Research Agency involved in “false information”. Sanctions include freezing assets, prohibiting funds to listed individuals and entities, and prohibiting sanctioned individuals from entering EU countries.
In addition, the EU specifically prohibits the import of goods from “Donetsk” and “Luhansk” in the Udong region, restricts trade and investment related to certain economic sectors, prohibits the provision of tourism services, and prohibits the export of certain goods and technologies.
As of now, the EU’s restrictive measures against “violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity” apply to a total of 555 individuals and 52 entities.
Since Russian President Vladimir Putin recognized the independence of eastern Ukraine, the European Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom have successively imposed sanctions, among which the EU sanctions are more severe and broader in scope.
On February 22, local time, the British Prime Minister announced in the House of Commons the “first wave” of economic sanctions against Russia, including sanctions against five Russian banks and three “extraordinarily high net worth individuals”. Any assets held in the UK by the businesses and individuals mentioned above will be frozen, the individuals concerned will be barred from travelling to the UK, and all UK individuals and entities will be prohibited from conducting any transactions with them.
The United States also announced new sanctions on the 22nd. On February 22nd, local time, the President of the United States delivered a speech on the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and announced the “first round” of sanctions against Russia, including two large financial institutions in Russia. Institutions, Russian sovereign debt, 5 elites, and their families impose sanctions.
On the same day, German Chancellor Scholz said that Germany had taken measures to stop the approval and certification process for the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline from Russia. On the 23rd, Biden officially announced the implementation of new sanctions against Nord Stream 2 AG, the operating company of the “North Stream-2” project, and its executives.