European Union governments are discussing sanctioning the owner of Chelsea Football Club, Roman Abramovich, along with more than a dozen other prominent Russians, according to documents seen by Bloomberg and people familiar with the matter.
The list, which still needs to be approved by EU governments and could change before that happens, also includes Tigran Khudaverdyan, the executive director and deputy CEO of Yandex NV, a Russian internet search engine that also operates a large ride-hailing operation, and Victor Rashnikov, who owns Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel PJSC, one of Russia’s biggest steelmakers.
EU ambassadors met on Sunday to discuss a fourth round of sanctions and trade restrictions, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen previewed the measures on Friday. Diplomats aim to finalise the package as early as Monday.
Other Russians who will be potentially targeted in this latest round of penalties include energy and mining executives, as well as leading media figures accused of spreading the Kremlin’s anti-Ukraine propaganda, for a total of some 15 individuals and nine entities.
The EU’s move against Mr Abramovich — Russia’s eighth-richest man according to Bloomberg data — would follow the UK’s decision last week to freeze his assets, including the football club.
The EU is also planning restrictions on some steel imports and on exports of luxury goods from Europe, as they continue to discuss what thresholds to apply.
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Police officers detain a woman in central Moscow, during a protest against Russian military action in Ukraine. AFP -
Children look at phones as people who fled the conflict in Ukraine wait outside an immigration office in Brussels, Belgium. Reuters -
Soldiers stand next to a bus with a damaged windscreen, after an attack on the Yavoriv military base, in Novoyavorivsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
A soldier waits at a hospital after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
A wounded soldier is transported by medical workers, at a hospital in Novoyavorivsk, after the attack on the Yavoriv military base. Reuters -
Rescuers work at the site of an accident after a bus that was carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned near Forli, central Italy. One person died in the crash. AFP -
A man wounded in the air strikes at a nearby military complex is assisted by medical staff outside Novoiavorivsk District Hospital. Getty Images -
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A view of a residential building damaged during an air strike, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters -
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A Ukrainian soldier holds a Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon that was used to destroy a Russian armoured personal carrier in Irpin. AFP -
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A Ukrainian soldier leaves a damaged building after shelling in Kyiv. AFP -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. AFP -
A finance police officer boards Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko's superyacht, which has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste, Italy. Reuters -
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Bystanders watch what appears to be Russian forces arresting Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, a city in south-eastern Ukraine. Reuters -
Firefighters battle a blaze at a warehouse storing frozen products hit by shelling in Kvitneve, Kyiv region. Reuters -
A soldier loads the cargo hold of a chartered Boeing 747 airplane with duffle bags belonging to US soldiers, during their deployment to Europe, at Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, Georgia. AP -
Two young girls pray for peace in Ukraine at Lisbon's 16th century Jeronimos Monastery. AP Photo -
A volunteer of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces walks on the debris of a car wash destroyed by Russian bombing in Baryshivka, east of Kyiv. AP Photo -
Volunteers pass an improvised path under a destroyed bridge as they help an elderly resident in Irpin, north-west Kyiv. AP Photo -
A woman who was evacuated from Irpin kisses a cat wrapped in a blanket at a triage point in Kyiv. AP Photo -
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Tonya Steyn, office manager and volunteer co-ordinator, sorts through medical supplies at the non-governmental organisation, SOS International headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. AFP -
An overview of damaged buildings and burning fuel storage tanks at Antonov Airport in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. Maxar Technologies / AFP -
The destroyed main building of school number 25, after being bombed in Zhytomyr. EPA -
A supporter holds a sign to support Ukraine during Paris' mayor and 'Socialist party' (PS) presidential candidate's campaign meeting in Rennes, western France. AFP
Ms Von der Leyen said Friday that the latest sanctions round, which includes a move to deny Russia most-favoured-nation trading status at the World Trade Organisation, are intended “to further isolate Russia and drain the resources it uses to finance this barbaric war.”
Mr Abramovich is the largest shareholder for Evraz Plc., a steel-mining business.
Evraz released a statement saying it doesn’t consider Abramovich — who has a 28.6 per cent stake — to be “a person exercising the effective control” of the company, and said that sanctions applied by the UK and Canada don’t apply to the company itself.
Mr Abramovich’s two superyachts — which together span almost 1,000 feet (305 meters) and cost well over $1 billion combined — both left port just days ahead of the UK’s sanctions announcement.
If the list is approved, Mr Abramovich and the others would join the registrar of tycoons sanctioned since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including metals tycoon Alisher Usmanov; Alfa Group owners Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven; Alexei Mordashov, who controls a major steel company; Igor Sechin, chief executive officer of oil company Rosneft; and Nikolay Tokarev, CEO of oil company Transneft.
Following the introduction of those measures, several countries, including Italy and France, impounded assets belonging to sanctioned individuals.
