The European Union has imposed sanctions on two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin as part of a new package of measures targeting Russia’s economy, businessmen and oligarchs, according to two officials.
The EU included Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova in an updated list of people facing an assets freeze and travel ban. The updated list of individuals and entities sanctioned has not been published yet.
The move from the European bloc follows a similar move two days earlier by the US.
The UK Foreign Office announced the same measures against Ms Tikhonova and Ms Vorontsova on Friday, as well as Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s daughter, Yekaterina Vinokurova.
На шляху до Києва!
Going to Kyiv. #StandWithUkraine @vonderleyen @eduardheger pic.twitter.com/Lw8UaQUZgBAdvertisement— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) April 8, 2022
Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, said: “These latest sanctions were adopted following the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation.
“The aim of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behaviour of the Russian troops and make clear to the decision makers in the Kremlin that their illegal aggression comes at a heavy cost.”
“Some countries may want to exhaust the Russians economically rather than stop them, while the Ukrainians are shedding their blood. We don’t accept that,” said Ukrainian deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk.
“The idea of the sanctions should be not just to exhaust the Russians in the longer term, but to stop them within months, not years.”
In addition to sanctions on individuals and members of their families, oligarchs and high-ranking Kremlin officials, the 27-nation bloc also formally approved an embargo on coal imports starting in August, as well as a full transaction ban on four key Russian banks representing 23% of market share in the country’s banking sector.
Vessels registered under the Russian flag are now prohibited to access EU ports, with an exception for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.
These are the first EU sanctions to target Russia’s lucrative energy industry over its war in Ukraine. According to the European Council, imports of coal into the region are currently worth 8 billion euros (£6.6 billion) per year.
The EU has already started working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports.
EU officials said the impact of the bloc’s sanctions over the first four weeks shows that imports into the 27 nations from Russia dropped by 9% in terms of value, and over 20% in terms of volume.
Trade from the EU to Russia has fallen by three-quarters.
