KRASNODAR, July 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Krasnodar Territory’s Governor Alexander Tkachyov said EU sanctions imposed against him were score settling for the support for brotherly Ukrainian people.
"Since the first day, I and entire Kuban (the Krasnodar territory) have supported our president that brotherly people must not be left in trouble. Therefore, I do not regret over sanctions. Even if I had known earlier they (sanctions) would be, I would have done what I have done," he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
"Our Cossacks did everything to save lives of Crimeans. Kuban also helps today we receive thousands of refugees from Ukraine who flee the hell.
"Against the background, I believe sanctions seem to be funny just settling of scores," Tkachyov said.
The European Union's Official Journal has published the EU Council's July 24 decision to add 15 people and 18 organizations to its sanctions list over the crisis in Ukraine. The Krasnodar territory’s governor is included in the latest list.
The people were targeted with travel bans and asset freezes and the organizations with asset freezes. The individuals and nine of the organizations were accused of undermining Ukraine's sovereignty while further nine sanctioned companies were confiscated by Crimean authorities following the unification with Russia in March.
This brings the number of people under EU sanctions in connection with the situation in Ukraine to 87 while the number of sanctioned companies or other organizations rises to 20.
Russian Federal Security Service and Foreign Intelligence Service chiefs Alexander Bortnikov and Mikhail Fradkov and the Chechen Republic's leader Ramzan Kadyrov were included in the blacklist.
On the list are also Russian Security Council (SC) Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Deputy SC Head Rashid Nurgaliyev, SC member Boris Gryzlov, Federal Security Service department head Sergei Beseda, State Duma member Mikhail Degtyarev, head of the mobilization department of the Defence Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Pavel Gubarev and his wife Yekaterina Gubareva, command official of the Donetsk republic Fyodor Berezin, President of the Republic of Novorossia Valery Kaurov and Novorossia's militia military leaders Sergei Zdrylyuk and Alexander Antyufeyev.
Among the organizations are the administrations of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, Novorossia structures and military and patriotic organizations of the region.
Nine Crimean companies were also added to the list.
The blacklisted "entities undermining the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine" are the Lugansk People's Republic ("responsible for organizing May referendum and declaration of independence), the Donetsk People's Republic (the same), the Federal State of Novorossia (on May 24, the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk signed an agreement creating the Federal State of Novorossia), the International Union of Public Associations "Great Don Army", which established the "Cossack National Guard", the self-defence militia of Lugansk, the Army of the Southeast, Donbass People's Militia, the Sobol paramilitary organization and the Vostok battalion.
Naming the organizations, the EU refers to their websites in the VKontakte social network. It may explain from where it takes information for its sanctions.
"Entities whose ownership has been transferred contrary to Ukrainian law" are the state-run Kerch ferry company, the Sevastopol commercial seaport, the Kerch commercial sea port, the state-run Universal-Avia enterprise, the Resort of Nizhnyaya Oreanda, the Azov distillery plant, the National Association of Producers "Massandra", the Magarach enterprise of the national institute of wine, the Novy Svet winery producing sparkling wine. The EU said the following nine companies have been effectively confiscated by Crimean authorities following Crimea's joining to Russia in March.
On March 17, the European Union announced the first sanctions list of 21 names. On March 21, the EU added 12 Russian citizens to it, including Vice-Premier Dmitry Rogozin, presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, Federation Council Speaker Valentine Matviyenko, State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin, Russia Today Agency Director Dmitry Kisilyov. On April 29, the list was widened with nine more Russians and six eastern Ukrainian militia leaders put on the list. The fourth version was published on May 13 with 61 names on the list, and assets of some Crimean companies were frozen. The fifth version came out on July 12.