The US Treasury Department announced sanctions against four Ukrainian officials, including two members of parliament. Biden administration officials say they are part of Russia’s efforts to prepare the ground for an invasion of Ukraine.
Members of parliament Taras Kozak and Oleh Volosin are the target of the sanctions announced by the Ministry of Finance. The other two are former government officials. The Ministry of Finance stated that these four people, for whom the Ministry of Finance has sanctioned, participated in the disinformation efforts carried out by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said these four were at the center of the Kremlin’s initiative launched in 2020 with the aim of “harming the Ukrainian state’s ability to function independently”.
“The United States is taking action to confront and expose Russia’s dangerous and threatening disinformation campaign in Ukraine,” said Wally Adeyemo, Deputy Secretary of the Treasury of the United States. “We are determined to take steps to hold Russia accountable for its destabilizing steps,” he said.
Taras Kozak, who controls several news channels in Ukraine, is accused of spreading false information about the inner circle of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and the 2020 elections. It is stated that Voloshin is also working with the FSB, Russia’s security and intelligence service, in order to harm Ukrainian government officials.
US Treasury Department officials note that Voloshin is working with Russian citizen Konstantin Kilimnik, who is the target of sanctions on the grounds that he attempted to influence the 2016 elections in the USA.
Vladimir Sivkovic, former deputy minister of national security and defense council of Ukraine, is among the names announced by the US Finance Ministry. Officials say Sivkovic was working with Russian intelligence activists last year in a perception operation aimed at garnering support for Ukraine to officially hand over Crimea to Russia in exchange for the gradual withdrawal of Russian-backed forces.
Another former official targeted by sanctions is Volodymyr Oliynik. It is stated that this person is working on the orders of the FSB to collect important infrastructure information of Ukraine. According to the US Treasury Department, Oliynik currently resides in Russia.
Biden’s new “invasion” statement
Less than 24 hours before the new sanctions were announced, US President Joe Biden said he thought Moscow would invade Ukraine. President Biden has warned that if Russian President Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine, he will pay a heavy price and face restrictions on access to the global banking system.
President Biden has come under criticism from Republicans and Ukrainian officials on Wednesday for inviting a limited Russian invasion, citing only his promises that the United States would respond in a measured response in the event of a “minor border violation”.
“I spoke clearly to President Putin,” Biden said on Thursday. There is no misunderstanding. “If any Russian military unit crosses the Ukrainian border, it would be an invasion,” he said.