US to Directly Sanction Russia's Putin and Foreign Minister... Cooperating with Europe

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 25th (local time), the United States announced that it would directly sanction Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

According to CNN and other outlets, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki stated that this decision was made after U.S. President Joe Biden had a phone call with Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission (EU), on the same day. Spokesperson Psaki said, "The United States will join them (the EU) in sanctioning President Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and members of Russia's national security team," adding, "We expect to release more specific details later this afternoon."

Earlier, the EU and the United Kingdom adopted a second round of sanctions against Russia, including freezing the assets of President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov within the EU. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, "We are hitting Putin's regime not only financially and economically but also striking at the core of power," explaining, "This is why not only Russian oligarchs but also President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov are included."

Spokesperson Psaki said, "The strong will and principles the President has held since the conflict began have driven this action and cooperation with European partners." This is interpreted as a simultaneous pressure on President Putin and others together with the EU to curb Russia's momentum in its airstrikes on Ukraine. Psaki also noted that this measure could restrict President Putin's movements.

However, it remains unclear how much impact the asset freeze on President Putin and Foreign Minister Lavrov within the region will actually have. While sanctioning President Putin is symbolic in itself, foreign media have assessed that it will be difficult to block the flow of his assets since his assets have never been officially disclosed and there is little concrete information available.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.