Ukrainian separatist leader Alexander Borodai and 10 other top rebel officials were hit with EU sanctions on Saturday, as the bloc implemented new measures meant to discourage violence in eastern Ukraine.
But the travel bans and asset freezes have already been mocked by the separatists, with one leader telling Interfax on Thursday that they have no plans to travel to the European Union and have no funds in the bloc.
Ukraine has seen a descent into violence since February, when President Viktor Yanukovych fled the former Soviet nation following mass protests over his reluctance to seek closer ties with the EU.
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The conflict worsened after Russia annexed the peninsula of Crimea.
The separatists have also declared the Donetsk and Luhansk regions independent from Ukraine, with Borodai — a 41-year-old political consultant from Moscow — appointed in May as Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
The other Donetsk rebels hit with sanctions on Saturday include the republic’s Security Minister, Alexander Khodakovsky; its Deputy Prime Minister for social policy, Alexander Kalyussky; and its Communications Minister, Alexander Khryakov.
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Luhansk separatists were also targeted, including their republic’s Prime Minister, Marat Bashirov; Vice Prime Minister Vasyl Nikitin; the chairman of the Supreme Council, Aleksey Karyakin; Internal Affairs Minister Yurij Ivakin; and Defence Minister Igor Plotnitsky.
The last two people hit with sanctions were Nikolay Kozitsyn and Oleksiy Mozgovy, who the EU said are responsible for commanding and training separatists to fight against Ukrainian government forces.
The EU has now issued sanctions against a total of 72 individuals and two entities for threatening Ukraine’s territorial integrity.