Sydney:
The Australian government has imposed sanctions and travel bans on two daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the daughter of Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, it said in a statement on Friday.
It follows similar measures taken by other Western countries, including the United States and Britain, bringing the total number of people and entities in Russia subject to Australian sanctions to nearly 750.
It did not name the two Putin daughters, but the Russian president is known to have two adult daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova. According to the statement, President Putin and Lavrov were added to the sanctions list on February 27.
The new round of sanctions also targets 144 Russian senators who have supported President Putin by approving “illegitimate” recognition as independent of eastern Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk on Feb. 22, the Australian ministry said. of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
Foreign Secretary Marisa Payne added that Australia will continue to raise costs for Russia by targeting those responsible for the “unjustified and unprovoked aggression in Ukraine”. Russia calls its invasion a “special military operation” to demilitarize and “denazify” Ukraine.
Last week, Australia imposed targeted financial sanctions on 14 Russian state-owned companies, including defense-related entities such as truck manufacturer Kamaz and shipping companies SEVMASH and United Shipbuilding Corp.
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