BRUSSELS, 5 March. /TASS/. The European Union has extended sanctions against Ukraine’s former president Viktor Yanukovych and his circle, the EU Council press service said on Thursday.
"The Council has extended EU restrictive measures focused on the freezing and recovery of misappropriated Ukrainian state funds," the Council’s statement says.
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"The measures consist in an asset freeze on persons subject to initial investigations on the embezzlement of Ukrainian state funds, including former President Viktor Yanukovych. The Council has adjusted the sanctions to take account of progress in these judicial proceedings," the Council said.
A blacklist of the persons against whom the restrictive measures are expected to be extended will be published on Friday, March 6 in the EU Official Journal, the Council said.
In March, 2014 the European Union froze European bank accounts of 22 Ukrainians, including ex-president Viktor Yanukovych, his family members and several high-ranking officials. According to the Council, they all are involved in embezzlement of state funds or in the human rights violations.
Later, the media reports said that 14 out of 22 blacklisted Ukrainians, including the former president and his sons, challenged the EU restrictive measures at courts and so the Union might lift sanctions from some of them.
Thus, the EU Council may imply that "adjustment" means the exclusion of certain persons from the list.