U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko at Davos. Photo: Mikhail Palinchak / TASS via Getty Images
The U.S. Treasury Department is issuing sanctions on 21 people and 9 companies over Russia’s actions in Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea, which the U.S. does not formally recognize, the AP reports.
What it means: This could ramp up tensions between the U.S. and Russia — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met Friday with Ukraine’s president in Switzerland just a month after the U.S. reportedly approved a lethal arms sale to Ukraine amidst the ongoing conflict last month.
- Ukrainian separatists are sanctioned, including those in the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic, with the titles of minister of finance, trade, justice, and security.
- Russia’s deputy energy minister Andrey Cherezov, already under EU sanctions, is also targeted.