EU and the US impose sanctions on Russian and Ukrainian officials
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The EU said it was taking measures against 21 people including 13 Russians, but did not released their names, while the US put seven Russians and two local politicians from Crimea on the sanctions list. These people include Putin close aides, deputy PM Dimitri Rogozin and new pro-Russian prime minister of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov. Washington can also impose sanctions on “any individual or entity that operates in the Russian arms industry.”
“Economic sanctions will be considered if Russia will move its troops into Ukrainian territory,” said Poland’s MFA Radosław Sikorski. He added that “Poland is one of the countries with the strongest economic ties with Russia. Some 7-8 percent of our exports are headed there and Poland imports some two-thirds of our gas from there.”
“We cannot be so enthusiastic about the possibility of implementing such sanctions, as we will be ones paying for it as well,” Sikorski added saying that sanctions should hit the aggressors the most, not the countries imposing them.
The sanctions come after the Sunday vote in Crimea, where, according to the officials, 97 percent of voters opted to be incorporated into the Russian Federation. Western official called the vote illegal and rigged, and announced they will not recognize its results. In one instance, the voter turnout in one of the Crimean cities, Sevastopol was 123 percent of the local population.
