US to sanction Putin children, banks over Bucha atrocities

The U.S. will impose new sanctions on Russia, including penalties on two of its largest banks and President Vladimir Putin’s daughters, following allegations of atrocities in Ukraine by Russian forces.

Full blocking sanctions will be imposed on Sberbank, Russia’s largest financial institution, and Alfa Bank, the country’s largest private bank, said Brian Deese, the director of the White House National Economic Council. All U.S. entities will be barred from transactions with them, with the exception of the energy sector.

Putin’s daughters, Mariya Putina and Katerina Tikhonova, along with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s wife and daughter and members of Russia’s national security council, will be sanctioned as part of an effort by the U.S. and its allies to crack down on people close to the Russian leader, a senior administration official said.

The U.S. believes Putin and his allies hide wealth with family members, the official said in a briefing for reporters, on condition of anonymity.

President Joe Biden will also sign an order that prohibits new investment in Russia by U.S. persons and entities. 

Other state-owned enterprises that will be subject to full-blocking sanctions include United Aircraft Corporation and United Shipbuilding Corporation, Deese said.

“Most of these large state-owned enterprises operate in very close connection to the Russian government. And we will be applying full blocking sanctions as well,” Deese told reporters Wednesday at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.

Full blocking sanctions on state-owned enterprises will be announced by the Treasury Department on Thursday, but do not include the energy sector, the official said.

The announcements follow the emergence of photos and reports of dead civilians in Bucha and other areas near Kyiv that fueled global outrage against Russia. President Joe Biden described the apparent killings as war crimes and said Putin could face a trial. Moscow has denied that its armed forces committed atrocities in Ukraine. 

Earlier this week, the U.S. Treasury Department took aim at Russia’s effort to avoid a default on its sovereign debt by halting dollar debt payments from the nation’s accounts at U.S. banks. 

The European Commission on Tuesday proposed new sanctions on Russia, including the coal ban, new penalties on oligarchs and other elites and their families, export controls and blocking access to Russian shipping carriers. The proposals also include sanctions on Putin’s daughters. 

The announcements come as Secretary of State Antony Blinken in is Europe for meetings with NATO allies to coordinate the latest punishments for Russia.