US Targets Daughters Of Putin With Fresh Sanctions

The US has announced fresh sanctions targeting two daughters of Vladimir Putin, as well as Russia's biggest public and private banks, as part of a common western effort to starve Putin's war machine of funds.

The sanctions targeting Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova, two adult daughters of Putin's with his former wife Lyudmila Shkrebneva, were announced by the White House, as the UK announced further economic sanctions and restrictions on eight oligarchs, while the EU wrangled over banning Russian coal.

The US said “full blocking” sanctions would also be imposed on foreign minister Sergei Lavrov's wife and daughter and members of Russia's security council including former president and prime minister Dmitry Medvedev.

“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people, the administration said. “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.

We believe that many of Putin's assets are hidden with family members, and that's why we're targeting them, a senior US official told reporters, referring to the two daughters. The US president, Joe Biden, directly linked the new measures to the killing of civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, tweeting that he had made clear that Russia would pay a severe and immediate price for its atrocities” there.

On the ground yesterday Russia continued to shell targets in the east, and Ukrainian authorities urged civilians to leave while the opportunity still exists” before an expected Russian military assault in the coming days.