China News Service, April 7 (Meng Xiangjun) On the 6th local time, the United States introduced a new round of sanctions against Russia, targeting the inner circle of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin's two daughters were also sanctioned, which caused concern.
U.S. sanctions include a blockade of Sberbank and Alpha Bank and a ban on new investments in the Russian economy.
In addition to Putin's daughter, the sanctioned persons include the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, Russian Prime Minister Mishustin, and Russian Security Council Vice Chairman Dmitry Medvedev and other Russian government officials and their families.
Old photos of Putin and his family.
Image source: Kremlin information.
According to statistics, at present, more than 400 Russian government officials, including Putin and Lavrov himself, and more than 140 oligarchs and their family members have been sanctioned by the United States and the West.
Speaking of the new wave of sanctions, U.S. President Biden said, "A continuation of U.S. sanctions for one year can set back Russia's economic achievements by 15 years."
[Putin's daughters are sanctioned]
According to the Russian Satellite News Agency, Putin and Lyudmila married in July 1983, and the "long-distance love run" lasted for nearly 30 years. They divorced in 2013.
The two have two daughters, Maria, born in 1985, and Ekaterina, born in 1986.
The eldest daughter, Maria, has been a "scholar" since she was a child, majoring in biology, and later became a medical expert. She has made great achievements in the medical field and is in charge of a large medical company.
Her husband is a wealthy Dutch businessman, and the two have one child.
Putin's two daughters, the second daughter on the left and the eldest daughter on the right.
Image source: Rossia 24 Youtube/MT video screenshot.
The second daughter, Yekaterina Tikhonova, was previously revealed by Western media to be Putin's daughter, but Putin himself did not confirm or deny the news.
Ekaterina has multiple identities such as a scientist, a dancer, and a company owner.
In 2011, then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in an interview with CNN ace Larry King that his two daughters lived ordinary lives, they were satisfied, they had friends and everything was normal.
He believes there is no need to "drag them" into the public eye.
"They have never been the so-called star children," Putin once introduced.
His daughters, educated only in Russia, are fluent in three European languages, one of which speaks one or two Eastern languages, and can use them at work as a tool language.
Both in personal life and professional growth, "I'm very proud of them."
Data map: In 2002, Russian President Vladimir Putin was on vacation with his two daughters.
Image credit: ITAR/Vladimir Rodionov
Putin said that he is not always strict with his daughters, "strict does not mean not love."
Putin revealed that the daughters have worked hard, paid a lot, and even become "workaholics", thinking about how to make the country better, and talking about these issues with themselves.
Putin said that he sometimes chatted with his family and did not rest at 2 in the morning.
"I live in a loving atmosphere. It's obvious," he added.
[Sanctions for 1 year, Russia goes back 15 years? 】
The U.S. sanctions will decouple Putin’s two daughters from the U.S. financial system, and any assets in the U.S. will be frozen.
The "power" of this sanction is unknown, because Russia has previously stated that Putin and his senior officials have no assets overseas. The so-called freezing is "freezing a loneliness"?
US President Joe Biden doesn't think so.
He described the new round of sanctions against Russia as "devastating" and said in a speech to union representatives: "A one-year extension of U.S. sanctions could set back Russia's economic achievements by 15 years."
Data map: Russia ushered in Flag Day.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Wang Xiujun
Senior U.S. officials predicted that “Russia, which was previously the world’s 11th largest economy, is likely to drop out of the top 20 (after a year of sanctions).”
A package of new U.S. sanctions includes a ban on all new investments in Russia and a blanket blockade of Sberbank and Alpha Bank.
Senior U.S. officials revealed that at present, two-thirds of Russia's banking industry has been blocked, and these banks previously held $1.4 trillion in assets.
However, the two Russian banks said the sanctions would not have a huge impact on jobs or business with Russian citizens, as the system had been adapted to the previously imposed restrictions.
However, some senior U.S. government officials pointed out that if Russia’s offensive against Ukraine slows, the sanctions imposed by the United States and the West may be slowed down or even reversed.
[What else is in the sanctions "toolbox"? 】
The reason for the US initiating this round of sanctions is that Ukraine recently accused Russia of "committing war crimes of massacres of civilians" in the town of Ubud.
The matter was strongly denied by Russia.
Although Russia cannot be "expelled" from the Security Council due to its veto power in the UN Security Council, the United States is seeking to coordinate and cooperate with its allies to suspend Russia's membership in the UN Human Rights Council.
FILE PHOTO: U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen.
US Treasury Secretary Yellen pointed out on the 6th that Russia should be expelled from the Group of Twenty (G20), and if Russian officials will appear at the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, the United States will boycott "some G20 meetings."
Yellen said the Biden administration wants to squeeze Russia out of major international institutions, but conceded that expelling Russia from the organization is unlikely given IMF rules.
A Treasury spokeswoman later said Yellen was referring to the April 20 meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors and related meetings on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington.
CNN said that the Western sanctions against Russia will be exhausted, and the next seems to be a test of will.
Image credit: CNN.
Russian State Duma Chairman Volodin believes that Washington's "hell-like" sanctions have not worked. The United States hopes that the Russian economy will collapse and the banking system will be paralyzed. , let the United States "shoot itself in the foot".
In this regard, CNN commented that the Western sanctions against Russia can be said to be "almost exhausted", and the next step will be a test of will.
[The tangled European internal strife]
The will of European countries is also facing a major test.
On the 6th, EU diplomats failed to reach an agreement on a new round of sanctions against Russia proposed by the European Commission, citing the need to solve technical problems.
Germany, the EU's largest importer of Russian coal, has raised a key question, Reuters reported, seeking to clarify whether the coal ban will affect existing contracts or only future ones.
The European Commission proposed a 90-day transition period for existing coal contracts.
On the 5th local time, Ukrainian President Zelensky delivered a video speech at the UN Security Council.
Image source: Screenshot of Zelensky's video speech
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized some political and business leaders as "indecisive" and lack of principled approach. "They still believe that war crimes are less terrible than economic losses."
He also invited former German Chancellor Angela Merkel and former French President Nicolas Sarkozy to visit Buca, blaming today's situation on the two leaders' refusal to join NATO at the NATO summit in Bucharest in 2008.
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki also pointed the finger at Germany.
He said at a press conference that the European Union was discussing expanding sanctions against Russia, but Germany stood in the way. He called on Scholz to change his position. At this stage, we cannot just focus on the anti-sanctions voice of German companies and deal with Russia harder.
Morawiecki also "shelled" Merkel, criticizing her silence since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
In his view, Germany's policies for more than a decade have contributed to Russia's strength.
In fact, after Merkel left office, she responded to Zelensky for the first time on political issues through a spokesperson in early April.
He said that he maintained his decision not to accept Ukraine's entry into NATO at the time, and at the same time supported the efforts of the international community to ease the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Data map: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Peng Dawei
Europe also sought to refuse to pay for natural gas in rubles, but Hungary said on the 6th that it was ready to pay rubles to Russia, which was considered to "disrupt the EU's position."
The British "Financial Times" analysis, the ban on coal imports may have little impact on Russia.
For more than a month, the EU paid Russia an estimated 20 billion euros for fossil fuels, with coal accounting for only 4 percent.
But whether for the EU or in Germany, there is no way out for the de-Russification of energy.
Among oil, coal and natural gas, the hardest emergency alternative to find is natural gas.
A Yougov survey in Germany last month found that 24 percent of households with a net monthly income of less than 2,500 euros believed that inflation had threatened their survival, 53 percent were deeply disturbed by price increases, and 67 percent were spending less.
At present, the contentious point of German policy is that the government is under pressure to de-Russification immediately and immediately.
Another hypothesis is that the Russian side cuts off the confession.
If these two extreme situations occur, who will cut off the confession first, and how should the government choose?
(over)