On Friday, the United States imposed sanctions on Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, three family members of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, and members of the Russian parliament, marking the latest sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has faced a series of measures since its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, which is considered the largest attack on a European country since World War II.
The U.S. Treasury Department stated that among those sanctioned are ten individuals from the board of directors of VTB Bank, Russia's second-largest bank, and twelve members of the State Duma. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, "The Treasury Department continues to hold Russian officials accountable for enabling Putin to wage an unjustified war."
Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Putin, had previously been sanctioned on March 3. The measures on Friday extended to include his wife and two of their children.
The U.S. State Department also announced sanctions on four board members of Novikombank, including its chairwoman, Elena Georgieva. Additionally, sanctions were imposed on the company APAR Management, which manages assets for the Russian Bank, and four of its board members, including the CEO of the Russian Bank, Dmitry Lebedev, and the Deputy Governor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Niyagin.
In mid-February, the Russian State Duma voted to urge Putin to recognize the independence of two Russian-backed separatist regions in Eastern Ukraine. Eleven members of parliament, along with the speaker of the parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, were added to the sanctions list on Friday.
