US tightens sanctions against Russia

WNM | Mar 15, 2019 at 5:57 PM

The sanctions lists includes Deputy Director of the Border Guard Service of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation Gennadiy Medvedev, Head of the Service Command Point of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation for the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol Ruslan Romashkin, Head of the Coast Guard Unit of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation Andrei Shein, Head of the Border Directorate of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation Sergei Stankevich, as well as Deputy Chairman of the Central Election Commission of the proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexey Naidenko, and secretary of the DPR Central Election Commission Vladimir Vysotsky.

Washington has imposed restrictions on Russian companies Oceanpribor, Fiolent factory, Sudokomposite, New Projects, Consol-Stroy, Zvezda, Yaroslavsky Shipbuilding Plant and Zelenodolsk Gorky Plant.

According to the US Treasury Department, these individuals and legal entities “took part in unjustified Russian attacks on Ukrainian warships in the Kerch Strait, the alleged annexation of Crimea and support for the illegal elections of the separatist government in eastern Ukraine.”

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) reported on November 25 that the Ukrainian warships, the Berdyansk, the Nikopol and the Yany Kapu had breached the Russian state border on Sunday morning and later attempted to carry out illegal maneuvers in Russia’s territorial waters later. According to the Russian version, the Ukrainian vessels ignored the demands of the Coast Guard of the FSB Border Service and the Black Sea Fleet to stop and end their action. After an chase and some gunfire the Russian coast guard detained the ships in Russian territorial waters.The ships were convoyed to the port of Kerch. A criminal investigation has been opened into the border incident.