Washington – Reuters
The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Victor Wexelberg, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and three members of parliament in the latest punishment for Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.
Russia has faced a series of actions since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the largest attack on a European country since World War II.
Among those included in the embargo were 10 members of the board of directors of VTB Bank, Russia’s second-largest bank, and 12 members (representatives) of the State Duma, the US Treasury said in a statement.
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen says the Treasury must continue to hold Russian officials accountable for waging a war that did not provoke Putin.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, was targeted for sanctions on March 3, and the move was extended Friday to include his wife and his two children.
The U.S. State Department says it has imposed sanctions on four members of its board of directors, including Novikombang chairman Elena Georgieva.
The ministry added that the sanctions include four members of APR Management, which manages Bank of Russia’s assets, and Dmitry Lepadev, chief executive of Bank of Russia, and Vladimir Nyakin, deputy governor of St. Petersburg.
In mid-February, the lower house of Russia’s parliament voted for Putin’s recognition of the independence of two Russian – backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.
Eleven members of parliament and parliamentary spokesman Vyacheslav Volodin were added to the list.