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Ukraine blacklists six Russian political parties, businessmen, election chief

The list includes the United Russia Party

The Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko Nikolai Lazarenko/Ukrainian president's press service/TASS

The Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko

© Nikolai Lazarenko/Ukrainian president's press service/TASS

KIEV, June 22. /TASS/. Ukraine has included in its sanctions list six Russian political parties and public organizations, and a number of Russian businessmen.

The blacklist, signed by President Pyotr Poroshenko on Thursday, slaps sanctions on the United Russia Party, the Liberal-Democratic Party, the Rodina (Motherland) party, the Democratic Party of Russia, the Agrarian Party of Russia and the Communist Party.

Russian businessmen Arkady and Boris, Roman and Lilia Rotenberg have been added to Ukraine’s new blacklist. Among other Russians on the list are Director of Divetechnoservice Alexander Tribun and its staff member Oleg Chirikov, Director of NVP Beril Oleg Nikolayev and also Viktoria Bilan, Yevgeniya Vorobyova and Natalya Zolotaryova.

According to the document, these individuals are banned from visiting Ukraine and funneling capital outside the country.

Russia’s Central Election Commission and its head Ella Pamfilova have been also put on the blacklist. Other staff members of the CEC are also targeted by sanctions, including its deputy chairman Nikolai Bulayev, secretary Maya Grishina and members of the Election Commission in Crimea Veniamin Nikiforov and Vyacheslav Firsov.

Ukraine has also slapped sanctions against a number of Russian public organizations, including the Union of Pensioners of Russia, the Combat Brotherhood veteran organization, the Union of Veterans of Afghanistan and the Corps ‘For Clean Elections.’

Under the decision, all these legal entities’ assets in Ukraine must be frozen and capital flight is forbidden. The licenses or other permissions on importing or exporting currency assets are annulled and restrictions are introduced on cash withdrawals using bank cards. The sanctions are introduced for three years.

Ukraine’s president announced the decision to introduce sanctions on May 2. Kiev earlier refused to recognize the results of the Russian presidential vote in Crimea. On March 18, 2018 the citizens of the Black Sea Peninsula voted in the Russian presidential election for the first time.

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