Originally <a href='/showthread.php?p=21415290'>posted</a> on 03/17/2014:

US President Barack Obama has ordered that sanctions be applied against 11 Russian and Ukrainian officials, the White House said. Earlier, the EU imposed sanctions against 21 officials after Crimea declared its independence.
The US has imposed sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian officials on Monday, with the White House stating that "the actions and policies" of the Russian government with respect to Ukraine "undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets."

Obama’s executive order applies to seven top Russian officials, including presidential aide Vladislav Surkov, presidential adviser Sergey Glazyev, State Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky, member of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament (the Federation Council) Andrey Klishas, head of the upper chamber of the Russian parliament Valentina Matvienko, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and State Duma deputy Yelena Mizulina.


In addition, the US Treasury has imposed sanctions on four Ukrainian individuals “for their actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine and in undermining the Government of Ukraine” including the ousted President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovich, Crimean top officials Sergey Aksyonov and Vladimir Konstantinov, and former Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Viktor Medvedchuk.


Obama's order states that it came into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 17, 2014. Later that morning shortly before 11 a.m., the president addressed the nation from the White House in Washington, DC to briefly discuss the latest course of action.


During his remarks, Pres. Obama acknowledged that the new executive order “expands the scope of sanctions” against Russia, “making it clear that there are consequences for their actions.” He also said that Vice President Joe Biden will be traveling to Europe later Monday evening to meet with officials in Poland, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuanian, and Obama himself will travel to Europe next week to speak with NATO partners.

“The international community will continue to stand together to oppose any violations to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Obama warned, adding that, “If Russia continues to interfere in Ukraine, we stand ready to impose further sanctions.”

According to Obama’s executive order, the sanctions are aimed at targeting the assets of the officials listed and to bar them from entering US territory.
However, this measure cannot affect those without assets abroad, said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was named on the list.


Andrey Klishas, a member of the Federation Council, also among the sanctioned officials, noted that he was “quite satisfied” with the company of people he found himself in.
State Duma deputy, Yelena Mizulina, was also perplexed by her addition to the list.

“The decision is puzzling – although we’ve expected sanctions – because I don’t have any accounts or real estate abroad, nor do my family members live abroad…Why was particularly I included?”