U.S. targets Putin entourage with sanctions

The White House added 20 influential Russians to its list of individuals targeted with sanctions that consist of visa bans and frozen bank accounts. Among them are close associates to Russian President Vladimir Putin, including Sergei Ivanov, the head of the Presidential Administration, Yuri Kovalchuk, identified by Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny as the president’s personal banker, as well as Rossiya Bank, which belongs to Kovalchuk and services most of Gazprom accounts. The expanded economic sanctions will target key Russian economic sectors. Russia should know that further escalation with only intensify its isolation from the international community, said U.S. President Barack Obama, who called upon the U.S. Congress and the IMF to offer support for Ukraine.

The EU added 12 influential Russians to its list of 21 individuals targeted with sanctions that consist of visa bans and frozen bank accounts, said on March 20 EU Council President Herman van Rompuy, as reported by the Interfax-Ukrainya news agency. The EU also canceled its Russia summit and EU member-states will cancel their bilateral summits, he said. The EU declined to apply economic sanctions, but they will be ready, said French President Francois Hollande.

Zenon Zawada: Though expected, the EU’s timidity is disturbing. The only formidable ally in Ukraine’s resistance to Russian imperialism is the U.S.