The European Union blacklisted more Ukrainian separatists and Russian backers to protest the destabilization of Ukraine.
As a cease-fire in eastern Ukraine showed signs of holding, the EU went ahead with plans announced last week to impose restrictions on an additional 19 people and nine organizations.
Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov is the highest-ranking official on the expanded blacklist. Those on the list are barred from traveling to the 28-nation EU or accessing bank accounts in the bloc.
The new targets included political and military officials from the self-styled breakaway republics of Luhansk and Donetsk, armed separatists groups, and the “New Russia” movement of separatist supporters.
In a separate decision over the weekend, the EU reconfirmed the blacklisting of 16 people including Russian billionaire Arkady Rotenberg. An EU appeals court had challenged those listings on procedural grounds.
The latest decisions put 151 people and 37 organizations on the blacklist.
Bloomberg
