The European Union has extended its list of sanctions against senior Russian officials to include General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, amid ongoing tension in Ukraine.
The Committee of Permanent Representatives in the European Union also threatened additional sanctions against Russian senior figures and Crimean authorities linked to the developments in Ukraine.
"Fifteen additional persons responsible for actions which undermine or threaten territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence will be targeted with a travel ban and freeze of their assets within the EU," a statement from the European bloc read.
The 15 new names in the enlarged sanctions list, published on Tuesday in the Official Journal of the European Union, include Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Nikolayevich Kozak, Russian Minister for Crimean Affairs Oleg Genrikhovich Savelyev, Acting Governor of Sevastopol Sergey Ivanovich Menyailo and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation into the so-called "Crimean Federal District", Oleg Yevgenyvich Belaventsev.
- Moscow 'failure'
Russian lawmakers were also named, including Olga Fedorovna Kovatidi and Deputy Chairmen of State Duma Ludmila Ivanova Shvetsova and Sergey Ivanovych Neverov.
Figures from the Russian military intelligence agency GRU, included Director of GRU and Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Igor Sergun and GRU staff member Igor Strelkov.
The sanctions will also hit names closely linked to the "Army of the South-East" which actively took part in the seizure of certain government buildings in eastern Ukraine, like German Prokopiv, Valeriy Bolotov, along with the head of the self-proclaimed "People's Republic of Donetsk" Andriy Prgin, and pro-Russian separatist leaders Donetsk Denys Pushylin and Sergey Gennadevych.
The addition of the names brings the total number of Russian and Crimean officials subject to the sanctions to 48, in response to what the West says has been Moscow’s failure to live up to the obligations it agreed to under an international agreement in Geneva towards ending the months-long dispute.
- Ashton threatens further steps
Releasing a written statement on the new batch of sanctions, Catherine Ashton, the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said she was alarmed by the deteriorating security situation in eastern Ukraine and condemned the shooting of Kharkiv Mayor Gennady Kernes on Monday and the abduction of military monitors from Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe in Slavyansk by armed pro-Russian separatists since last Friday.
"These developments run counter to the Joint Geneva Statement on Ukraine of 17 April, which set out key steps to de-escalate tensions and restore security," she said.
The deal, struck in mid-April in Geneva between Ukraine, the U.S., the EU and Russia, aimed to defuse tensions in the east of Ukraine where pro-Russian rebels, some armed, have occupied government buildings and public spaces.
The EU foreign policy chief said she appreciated related "concrete actions" taken by the Kiev government - such as a pledge to strengthen the powers of the country's regions and grant a prominent status to the Russian language and the preparation of a law on amnesty to the militants who lay down their arms.
"I call on Russia to take now concrete action in support of the Geneva accord," said Ashton, cautioning Moscow that the 28-nation bloc would consider possible additional individual measures if necessary.
