MOSCOW – As Russian armed forces closed in on Ukraine’s capital, attacking by land and air, the European Union has frozen the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Euro News reported Saturday.
EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed the development saying Moscow will be isolated from the international community and the country of 144 million will be under fresh sanctions in response to the attack on Ukraine.
EU official said the Russian President, who ordered the assault on Eastern European country, is the third world leader to be personally sanctioned by the European Union – the two other leaders are Belarusian premier Alexander Lukashenko and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Reports suggest that the United States also decided to freeze the personal assets of top Russian leaders, after previously banning Russian elites and imposing a travel ban on Putin and accomplices.
The fresh curbs announced by the Western alliance mean that EU-based banks will not be allowed from making funds available to them.
As military attacks continue to unfold near Ukraine’s capital, the Western countries started increasing pressure to come up with stern and more radical punishments.
Putin’s net worth is said to be between $70 billion and $150 billion however it is shrouded how much of his wealth is stored in EU territory.
On Friday, US President Joe Biden announced the sanctions on the Russian President and his team. Washington also mentioned the head of the military General Valery Gerasimov, and Sergei Shoigu, the defense minister.
Britain will also impose its own sanctions against Putin and Lavrov, as prime minister Boris Johnson urged the west to take immediate action to oust Russia from the Swift international payments system.
Following the stern measures, Russian President and FM Lavrov would not be subject to a ban on traveling, underlining the bloc’s willingness to keep symbolic diplomatic avenues open, per reports.
Death toll of Ukrainians on the rise as Russia army advances on Kyiv
Causalities in Ukraine are already soaring as the conflict rages across the country, gunshots have already been heard in the governmental district of the capital city.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that nearly 137 civilians and military personnel were killed in the country on the first day of the Russian invasion while the figure is set to rocket over the weekend as both countries become increasingly hostile.
Addressing a day after the Russian invasion, he called the deceased “heroes”, while he mentioned that more than 300 people were injured in less than 24 hours of fighting.
Missiles rain down in Eastern Ukraine as Russia begins military operation
