European Union to Sanction Eight Russians Over Confrontation in the Sea of Azov

Diplomatic sources said on Friday, February 15, that the European Union will add eight more Russian citizens to its blacklist due to military confrontation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov. According to Reuters, EU foreign ministers will discuss the possibility of further support for Ukraine, particularly in the southeastern regions of the country most affected by the war, on Monday. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and has supported separatists in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since the beginning of the conflict in eastern Ukraine. In November 2018, the Russian Navy captured 24 Ukrainian naval personnel and seized their vessels in the Kerch Strait, which connects the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. The Russian government has not yet accepted the EU's request for the release of the Ukrainian military personnel. According to a senior EU official, Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed 'imposing punitive measures in response to the Sea of Azov incident' during their meeting in Brussels on Friday. The diplomat's remarks suggest that the U.S. and the EU have coordinated their actions in this regard. Two other diplomatic sources told Reuters that the EU will add the names of eight more Russians directly involved in this incident to the list of individuals and entities subject to travel bans to Europe, and their assets will be frozen due to their involvement in the Ukraine crisis. These sources added that the EU's decision will be officially announced in the coming weeks, before the Ukrainian presidential elections on March 31. Despite EU and U.S. sanctions against Russia for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis, Moscow has emphasized that it will not return Crimea, and sporadic clashes in eastern Ukraine continue. Since the beginning of these conflicts in 2014, more than 10,000 people have been killed.