US

Trump Admin Slaps Russians With Sanctions

(PHOTO: MICHAEL KLIMENTYEV/AFP/Getty Images)

Alex Pfeiffer White House Correspondent
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The Department of Treasury announced sanctions against 38 individuals and organizations for their involvement in separatist movements in Ukraine.

“These designations will maintain pressure on Russia to work toward a diplomatic solution,” Secretary of Treasury Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement. “This administration is committed to a diplomatic process that guarantees Ukrainian sovereignty, and there should be no sanctions relief until Russia meets its obligations under the Minsk agreements.”

The move from the Trump administration comes amid a slew of claims from opponents that President Trump is too cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Treasury Department said in a statement that sanctions on Russia related to the Ukrainian crisis will remain until Russia honors the Minsk Agreements that call for a ceasefire. The statement also stated that sanctions related to Crimea will remain until Russia “ends its occupation of the peninsula.”

The 38 sanctioned individuals and entities will not be allowed to own property in the U.S., nor will Americans be allowed to do transactions with them.

Some of those sanctioned are key Russian officials such as Petr Jarosh, who is the head of the Russian Federal Migration Service in the separatist “Republic of Crimea.” A Russian bank, TSMRBANK, was also sanctioned as it allegedly services clients in the Russian-backed rebel states Donetsk, Luhansk and Crimea.

This announcement comes the same day as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is stopping by the White House.