Putin’s daughters, Russian banks face sanctions over atrocities in Ukraine

The U.S. issued sanctions Wednesday against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters in retaliation for reports of alleged atrocities that Ukrainian officials say were committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.

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In addition to the sanctions against Putin’s daughters, the U.S., along with allies in the European Union and the Group of Seven, will toughen penalties on Russian banks, place an EU embargo on coal and ban travel from Russia, The Associated Press reported.

“A billion euro is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he provides us since the beginning of the war. We have given him 35 billion euro. Compare that to the one billion that we have given to the Ukraine in arms and weapons,” EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said.

The Biden administration announced plans to sanction Putin’s two children from his now-ended marriage to a former Aeroflot cabin crew member, according to U.S. officials. Western officials identified the two as Maria Putina and Katerina Tikhonova.

Putin’s daughters were born to his former wife, Lyudmila Putina, according to the Kremlin website.

He and his wife had Maria before leaving for Germany in 1985, where Putin was based as a KGB officer. Katerina was born in 1986 in the German city of Dresden.

The couple ended their relationship in 2013.

The U.S. Department of Treasury announced the sanctions Wednesday, saying the European Union is set to make the same move. The EU sanctions will include freezing any assets held in the 27-member bloc and banning travel to member countries, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Those sanctions are to take effect by Friday.

The moves against Sberbank and Alfa Bank prohibit assets from touching the U.S. financial system and bar Americans from doing business with those institutions, according to the AP.

The United States and Western allies plan to impose a ban on all new investment in Russia.

In addition to sanctions aimed at Putin’s adult daughters, the U.S. is targeting Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin; the wife and children of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov; and members of Russia’s Security Council, including Dmitry Medvedev, a former president and prime minister.

The penalties will cut off all of Putin’s close family members from the U.S. financial system and freeze any assets they hold in the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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