European Union set to announce wide-ranging sanctions on Russia

The bloc is expected to sanction 351 members of the Russian state Duma that voted for recognition of the two territories, The Guardian reported

Russias Defence Minister, Sergei Shoigu, the commanders-in-chief of the Russian Air Force and Black Sea Fleet, leading state "propagandists" and 351 Duma deputies are expected to be targeted in EU sanctions to be announced later on Wednesday, The Guardian reported.

The measures, which need to be signed by EU foreign ministers, would go further than those announced by the US and a significant distance beyond Boris Johnson's Russia sanctions, the report said.

If approved, the EU will impose asset freezes and travel bans on 23 people, three banks and a notorious internet "troll factory" in St Petersburg, in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk as independent states.

The bloc is also expected to sanction 351 members of the Russian state Duma that voted for recognition of the two territories, The Guardian reported.

The Russian government will also see further restrictions on its ability to raise money on EU financial markets. EU officials are drawing up measures to ban trade between the two Russian-controlled territories in eastern Ukraine, mirroring earlier sanctions on Crimea in 2014.

"Everyone seems onboard for the adoption of the sanctions," an EU diplomat said.

At the top of the sanctions list is Shoigu, because he is "ultimately responsible for any military action against Ukraine", said the draft list seen by The Guardian.

He is joined by Anton Vaino, Putin's Chief-of-Staff, who "plays an active role in decision making", as well as Igor Osipov, the Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet, and Sergei Surovikin, the Commander-in-Chief of Russian Aerospace Forces.

--IANS

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