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The Biden administration is targeting Ukrainian citizens, including two lawmakers, who are accused of working to destabilize the country.
The United States has imposed sanctions on four Ukrainian citizens, including two lawmakers, for working to “destabilize” Ukraine on behalf of Russia’s intelligence services. Russian invasion country.
Washington announced the measures on Thursday, and promised to coordinate with Kyiv to “identify, reveal and implement costs” for Ukrainians working in Moscow’s leadership.
U.S. sanctions included two current members of the Ukrainian parliament, Taras Kozak and Oleg Voloshyn, as well as two former officials, Vladimir Sivkovich and Volodymyr Oliyny.
“This action is aimed at highlighting and reducing Russia’s destabilizing efforts in Ukraine,” the State Department said in a statement.
“It differs from the wide range of high-impact measures that the United States and its allies and partners are willing to impose if they could further invade Ukraine to cause high costs to the Russian economy and financial system.”
The Biden administration refers to the potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia as a “further invasion” because Russia took over Ukraine. Crimean peninsula In 2014 and shortly thereafter, he sided with the separatist insurgency in the east of the country.
They have been the Russian military gathering troops near the country’s border with Ukraine, and has sparked fears in the US and Europe that Russia is preparing for the immediate invasion of its neighbor.
Washington warns Moscow “massive consequences”If it passes with a raid.
Russia has denied plans to invade Ukraine, but has strongly opposed the country’s efforts to join NATO. He is looking for Moscow security guarantees The US-led military alliance will stop expanding eastward into the former Soviet republics – a request rejected by Washington as “uninitiated”.
Earlier this month, talks between US and Russian officials and separate negotiations between Russia and NATO failed to resolve the stalemate. U.S. officials say they continue to seek diplomacy with Russia to end the crisis.
Antony Blinken is the US Secretary of State set to join Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday. Blinken he warned on Thursday, any “new act of aggression” against Russia by Ukraine would have a “quick, strong and united response” from the United States and its partners.
Meanwhile, in its statement on Thursday’s sanctions, the US Treasury accused Koza, one of Ukraine’s two current lawmakers, of spreading misinformation through various channels it controls in Ukraine.
Voloshyn said he “worked with Russian actors to weaken and defend Ukrainian government officials on behalf of Russia” and accused Oliyny of gathering information on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure on behalf of Russia.
For his part, Sivkovich “worked with a network of Russian intelligence agents to conduct influence operations,” including efforts to officially hand over Kiev to Crimea in Moscow, according to the U.S. Treasury.
Punishment freezes the assets of people targeted by the U.S. and makes it a potential crime for American citizens to do business with them.
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