Mikhail Klimentiev | AFP | Getty Images WASHINGTON – The United States announced on Wednesday that it would impose a new package of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and that for the first time, sanctions would target the two adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Katerina Tikhonova and Mariya Putina, in their 30s, rarely appear in public and are almost never mentioned by their father. The Kremlin has recognized them only by their first names. “We believe that many of Putin’s assets are hidden from family members and that is why we are targeting them,” said a senior government official who spoke in the background to give a preview of the new measures. In 2015, Putin acknowledged that his daughters lived in Russia and spoke many languages fluently, but said: “To talk about exactly where my daughters work and what they do – I have never done it and I will not do it now. , many reasons, including security issues “. In addition to Putin’s daughters, the United States will impose sanctions on Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s wife and daughter, as well as former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Misustin, the White House said. U.S. officials said the latest round of sanctions was a direct response to shocking news of war crimes allegedly committed by Russian troops in the Ukrainian city of Bukha. There, civilians were shot to death with their hands tied behind their backs after the weekly occupation of the village by Russia. “There is nothing less happening than major war crimes,” President Joe Biden said in a speech in Washington on Wednesday. US President Joe Biden addresses business leaders at the Building Trades Unions North America (NABTU) Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC, April 6, 2022. Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images “Responsible nations must unite to hold these perpetrators accountable,” he said. “Together with our allies and partners, we will continue to increase financial costs and increase pain for Putin.” In addition to individual remarks, Biden said he would sign a new executive order banning any new American investment in Russia, which would apply to both U.S. residents and those living abroad.
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Read more about CNBC political coverage: Two of Russia’s largest banks, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, will face full foreclosure sanctions for the first time, albeit with characters for energy markets. Many large Russian state-owned companies are also under complete embargo, the White House said, with specific entities to be announced later this week by the Treasury Department. The new sanctions are being coordinated with members of the G-7 group of developed economies and the European Union, as part of an effort to maximize their impact and minimize opportunities for the Kremlin to avoid them. One of the most visible examples of this coordination was the seizure of many large yachts belonging to Russian billionaires under sanctions in luxury holiday ports across Europe. The latest high-profile collaboration took place on Monday in the Spanish resort of Palma de Mallorca, when law enforcement officials from the United States and Spain jointly seized a large $ 90 million yacht belonging to the sanctioned Russian billionaire Viktelberg. The yacht called “Tango” owned by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, who was sanctioned by the US on March 11, appears at the Palma de Mallorca Yacht Club on the Spanish island of Mallorca, Spain, on March 15, 2022. John Medina | Reuters Biden highlighted the international yacht seizure program in a speech Wednesday to leaders of several construction unions. “Did you see these yachts picking them up?” asked the crowd, skeptical. “Think of the incredible sums of money that these oligarchs have stolen.” The Kremlin-linked oligarchs “will not be allowed to keep these hundreds of millions of dollars worth of yachts, these luxury cottages while children in Ukraine are being killed,” Biden said.
