US sanctions Vladimir Putin’s daughters, and bans every investment in the country

The US announced fresh penalties against Russia on Wednesday, including sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters for the first time.

Katerina Tikhonovna and Maria Putina, both in their thirties, are rarely seen in public and their father rarely mentions them. They have only ever been identified by their first names by the Kremlin.

“We believe much of Putin’s assets are concealed with his family members, which is why we’re going after them,” said a senior administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the new measures.

Putin admitted that his daughters lived in Russia and spoke multiple languages in 2015, but added, “To talk about where exactly my daughters work and what they do—I have never done this and will not do it now, for many reasons, including security issues.”

The US will also blacklist Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s wife and daughter, as well as former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, according to the White House.

The current round of sanctions, according to US officials, was prompted by alarming new footage of what appears to be Russian troops committing war crimes in the Ukrainian village of Bucha.

Following Russia’s weeks-long occupation of the village, residents were found shot to death with their wrists tied behind their backs.

Apart from individual designations, President Joe Biden will sign a new executive order forbidding any new investment in Russia by Americans, which will apply to both Americans living in the United States and those living overseas.

For the first time, full blocking sanctions will be imposed on two of Russia’s largest banks, Sber Bank and Alfa Bank, with exceptions for energy imports.

The White House confirmed that several key Russian state firms have been placed under full blocking sanctions, with specific entities to be named by the Treasury Department later this week.

According to the senior administration official, the new sanctions are being planned with members of the G-7 group of developed economies and the European Union in order to maximize their impact and reduce options for the Kremlin to escape them.