EU sanctions 380 Russian lawmaker, 27 individuals, legal entities

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EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that the EU sanctions against Russia will apply to 351 lawmakers of the Parliament’s Lower House, the State Duma, adding that if the conflict escalates, the EU will impose more sanctions.

Following an informal meeting of EU top diplomats, he said, "Today we have agreed that the 351 members of the Russian State Duma who voted for these violations of the international law and territorial integrity and sovereignty or Ukraine will be listed in our sanctions," adding that the sanctions will also target 27 individuals and legal entities.

"[Sanctions will target] banks that are financing Russian decision-makers and other operations in those territories [Donbas]. We also target economic relations of these two regions and the EU exactly as we did with the Crimea case," Borrell said.

He added that they target the ability of the Russian state and government to access their capital and financial market and services.

The EU foreign policy chief said the bloc is ready to continue dialogue with Russia but not under "military threat".

EU, UK, France, and UN discuss sanctions against Russia

EU ministers met earlier today to discuss "what sanctions to impose" on Russia in response to Putin's decision to recognize the sovereignty of the two republics, Donetsk and Lugansk, in southeast Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced that the United Kingdom will impose "immediate" economic penalties on Russia, warning that President Vladimir Putin is planning an alleged "full-scale invasion of Ukraine."

Johnson claimed that Putin had "completely torn up international law," and that British sanctions should target "Russian economic interests as hard as we can," not only the Donetsk and Lugansk regions. 

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian also slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision to recognize the republics in Ukraine.

He called the recognition a violation of international law and the Minsk peace accord with Ukraine.

Ukraine's UN envoy has demanded that Russia revoke its recognition of territories in the east, withdraw its "occupation troops" dispatched there by President Vladimir Putin, and resume talks.

Sergiy Kyslytsya told a UN Security Council emergency meeting on Monday that Ukraine convened the rare nighttime session to protest and denounce Putin's "illegal and illegitimate" recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which he said violated Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Russia’s recent decision to recognize DPR and LPR followed a deterioration of the situation on the line of contact between Ukraine and the breakaway republics. Russia has repeatedly denied any intention of invading Ukraine, but nevertheless, the West continued to militarize Ukraine, which in its turn, bombed the DPR and LPR over the past few days causing civilian and military casualties, without Russia even moving an inch.