BERLIN, February 25. /TASS/. European Union countries have agreed on personal sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Germany’s NTV reported on Friday, citing EU sources.
According to the news outlet, the restrictions are about freezing assets. The foreign ministers of EU countries will make a formal decision on Friday. NTV claims that "the EU has already agreed to do it."
Reuters and Germany’s DPA news agency have issued similar reports, citing their sources. DPA said that the EU moved to blacklist the Russian president and foreign minister, allegedly banning them from entering the European Union and freezing their assets.
On Thursday morning, Putin announced a special military operation based on a request from the heads of the Donbass republics. The Russian leader stressed that Moscow had no plans to occupy Ukrainian territories. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported later that the Russian Armed Forces were not delivering strikes against Ukrainian cities. The ministry emphasized that the Ukrainian military infrastructure was being destroyed by precision weapons and there was no threat to civilians.