EU sanctions Putin’s two daughters

GBNews24 Desk//

The EU blacklisted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters and more than 200 other people as part of its latest sanctions package over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, according to an official list published late Friday.

Those on the list, which additionally included 18 companies, face asset seizures and travel bans in the 27-nation European Union.

The United States and Britain had already sanctioned Putin’s two daughters: Maria Vorontsova and Katerina (or Ekaterina) Tikhonova, born in 1985 and 1986 respectively.

Their mother is the Russian leader’s ex-wife Lyudmila, whose divorce from Putin was announced in 2013.

The Kremlin had kept details of Putin’s daughters’ lives a closely guarded secret.

EU member states had already agreed their inclusion earlier this week but their blacklisting only took effect late Friday with the publication in the European Union’s Official Journal, which requires translation work to be made available in 24 languages.

A total of 217 individuals were added to the EU’s blacklist, including Putin’s offspring. That expanded the list drawn up against Russia to a total 1,091 people.

Other notable entries on the list were: Herman Gref, the head of Russia’s biggest listed bank, Sberbank; oligarch Oleg Deripaska who owns arms factories; defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov; more members of the ultra-wealthy Rotenberg family close to Putin; and the members of the political administrations running separatist Russian-backed enclaves in eastern Ukraine.

“We are again reinforcing our sanctions lists and adding more people from politics, the business sector and those engaged in propaganda activities, together with more entities from the financial, military-industrial and transport sectors,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.