Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on agriculture via video link April 5, 2022 at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow.
Mikhail Klimentyev | AFP | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The United States announced on Wednesday that it will impose a new list of sanctions on Russia, including for the first time sanctions on the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Katerina Tikhonovna and Maria Putina, who are in their thirties, are rarely seen in public and almost never mentioned by their father. The Kremlin has only ever identified them by their first names.
“We believe that many of Putin’s fortunes are hidden with family members and that is why we are targeting them,” said a senior government official speaking in the background to preview the new measures.
In 2015, Putin admitted that his daughters lived in Russia and were fluent in several languages, but said: “Talking about where exactly my daughters work and what they do – I’ve never done it and I won’t do it now, for many reasons, including safety concerns.”
In addition to Putin’s daughters, the US will also sanction the wife and daughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, the White House said.
US officials said this latest round of sanctions was in direct response to shocking new evidence of likely war crimes being committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
After weeks of occupation of the village by Russia, civilians were found shot dead with their hands tied behind their backs.
Beyond individual designations, President Joe Biden will sign a new executive order banning any new investment by Americans in Russia, which will apply to both US citizens and expatriates.
Two of Russia’s largest banks, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, will also be subject to full lockdown sanctions for the first time, albeit with exceptions for energy purchases.
Several large Russian state-owned companies will be placed under full lockdown sanctions, the White House said, with specific companies to be announced by the Treasury Department later this week.
The new sanctions will be coordinated with members of the G-7 group of developed economies and the European Union to maximize their impact and minimize opportunities for the Kremlin to dodge them, the senior administration official said.
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