EU to Sanction Russian Defense Minister, Internet Research Agency
BY LAURENCE NORMAN | UPDATED FEB 23, 2022 08:02 AM EST
Listings come in response to Moscow’s deployment of troops to eastern Ukraine
The European Union is planning to sanction Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia’s Internet Research Agency, which U.S. officials previously sanctioned for allegedly fueling divisions during the 2016 U.S. elections, diplomats said Wednesday.
The sanctions listings, which are set to take force later Wednesday, are part of the first wave of restrictions initiated by the European Union in response to Russia’s recognition this week of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and the deployment of Russian forces into the area. Representatives of the Russian Embassy in London weren’t immediately available for comment.
EU officials on Tuesday set out a range of sanctions they intended to enforce against Russian entities, including sanctions against most Russian lawmakers, a ban on purchasing and trading new Russian bonds and an asset freeze—and exclusion from EU markets—of three Russian banks: VEB, Rossiya and Promsvyazbank. Imports from and exports to the separatist regions in Ukraine will also be banned.
In addition, the EU is placing targeted sanctions on 22 individuals and the Internet Research Agency. The targets don’t include Russian President Vladimir Putin, although Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign-policy chief, said on Tuesday the Russian leader could be hit with a travel ban and asset freeze if there is fresh Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Among the individuals listed by the EU are Mr. Shoigu, Anton Vaino, the head of Mr. Putin’s office, and several other senior military commanders, including the chiefs of staff of Russia’s navy and of its Defense Ministry, diplomats said.
Maria Zakharova, a combative longtime spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, is also set to be sanctioned.
“We believe these sanctions are illegitimate," Ms. Zakharova said on Tuesday, according to Russian news agency TASS. “We have long understood that this is the only tool the leaders of Western countries can use against us."
The sanctions list also includes senior officials at the three banks being targeted, including Igor Shuvalov, the head of VEB, who is a former first deputy prime minister of Russia and close ally of Mr. Putin. Representatives for VEB weren’t immediately available Wednesday.
The Internet Research Agency is headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Mr. Putin who is already under EU sanctions over his connection to the Russian mercenary organization Wagner Group. The EU is targeting the group because of its role in allegedly spreading disinformation about Ukraine and the current crisis.
Mr. Prighozin, who is also under U.S. sanctions, has denied the agency was involved in interfering with the U.S. election campaign.
The U.S. and its European allies on Tuesday announced what they described as a first batch of sanctions against Russia for what President Biden called “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine." Separately, Germany said it would indefinitely halt the certification of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.
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The coordinated U.S. and European actions unveiled so far fall short of the package of sanctions threatened and previewed by governments if Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Taken together, officials said, the measures are supposed to limit Russia’s access to the global financial system.
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