US targets new sanctions at Putin’s two daughters and two banks

The two adult daughters of Russian leader Vladimir Putin will face US sanctions under new measures announced by the White House.

The sanctions targeted Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin’s with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva.

Sanctions will also be applied to relatives of Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as members of Russia’s security council, including former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev and prime minister Mikhail Mishustin.

The White House said on Wednesday that these individuals had “enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people”.

Heavy Russian shelling bombards Ukrainian cities as civilian killings condemned

---

Moldovans pack bags over fears Russia might push beyond Ukraine

---

Nato’s ‘eyes in the sky’ keep watch as Ukraine war rages

---

Portugal PM seeks to shelter economy from Ukraine fallout as he begins third term

---

“Some of them are responsible for providing the support necessary to underpin Putin’s war on Ukraine. This action cuts them off from the US financial system and freezes any assets they hold in the United States.”

The Biden administration also announced what it described as “full blocking sanctions” on Russia’s largest financial institution Sberbank, and Russia’s largest private bank Alfa Bank.

“This action will freeze any of Sberbank’s and Alfa Bank’s assets touching the US financial system and prohibit US persons from doing business with them. Sberbank holds nearly one-third of the overall Russian banking sector’s assets and is systemically critical to the Russian economy. Alfa Bank is Russia’s largest privately-owned financial institution, and Russia’s fourth largest financial institution overall.”

The White House also said it would prohibit new investment in the Russian Federation by US citizens.

Restrictions

The Biden administration said the sanctions imposed on Russia so far in response to its invasion of Ukraine represented “the most impactful, coordinated and wide-ranging economic restrictions in history”.

“Experts predict Russia’s GDP will contract up to 15 per cent this year, wiping out the last 15 years of economic gains. Inflation is already spiking above 15 per cent and forecast to accelerate higher.

“More than 600 private sector companies have already left the Russian market. Supply chains in Russia have been severely disrupted. Russia will very likely lose its status as a major economy, and it will continue a long descent into economic, financial, and technological isolation.”

It comes after the European Union moved on Tuesday to ban Russian coal imports and introduce further sanctions. European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday there were more EU sanctions to come.

“These sanctions will not be our last,” she said. “Now we have to look into oil and revenues Russia gets from fossil fuels.” – Additional reporting by Reuters