‘Putin’s Chef’ and No. 1 Troll Blasted With Fresh U.S. Sanctions

The White House announced a new wave of sanctions targeting Russian elites, oligarchs, and their families Thursday, in an attempt to further isolate Russia from international travel and financial systems as Russia wages war in Ukraine.

The sanctions go after high profile targets in Russia, including Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who the White House called out for amplifying and spreading Putin’s propaganda, and Yevgeniy Prigozhin, or “Putin’s chef,” who has stood at the helm of Russia’s Internet Research Agency, Russia’s troll army that has worked to interfere in U.S. elections for years. Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who had his yacht so-called “Dilbar” seized by Germany on Wednesday, is also sanctioned.

The sanctions also target people working for large Russian firms that are providing support for Russia’s invasion in Ukraine.

“These individuals have enriched themselves at the expense of the Russian people, and some have elevated their family members into high-ranking positions,” a release from the White House says of the sanctioned individuals. “Others sit atop Russia’s largest companies and are responsible for providing the resources necessary to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. These individuals and their family members will be cut off from the U.S. financial system, their assets in the United States will be frozen and their property will be blocked from use.”

The Biden administration is also going after seven Russian entities and 26 Russia and Ukraine-based individuals that have been working to spread Russian disinformation about Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

The Department of Justice will be using information on the oligarchs sanctioned for criminal prosecutions and seizure of assets, according to the White House.

“Treasury is committed to holding Russian elites to account for their support of President Putin’s war of choice,” Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen said of the sanctions. “Today, across the U.S. government and in coordination with partners and allies, we are demonstrating our commitment to impose massive costs on Putin’s closest confidants and their family members and freeze their assets in response to the brutal attack on Ukraine.”

The news comes as Russia continues to shell cities throughout Ukraine, and a day after Russia has appeared to successfully capture the port city of Kherson. French President Emmanuel Macron said he expects the worst is yet to come after speaking with Putin Thursday in an apparently unsuccessful attempt to deescalate.

The United States, the European Union, and other allies have been imposing crippling sanctions targeting Putin cronies and Putin himself in recent days in an attempt to dissuade Putin from continuing his assault in Ukraine. The United Kingdom also announced additional sanctions Thursday in an attempt to cut off oligarchs from mansions in the U.K. worth tens of millions, including on Usmanov and on former Russian deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov.

Terrifying Putin Phone Call Warns ‘Worst Is Yet to Come’

“Sanctioning Usmanov and Shuvalov sends a clear message that we will hit oligarchs and individuals closely associated with the Putin regime and his barbarous war,” Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said. “We won’t stop here. Our aim is to cripple the Russian economy and starve Putin’s war machine.”

Some of the Biden administration’s sanctions impose visa restrictions on Russian elites and their families, including 19 oligarchs and 47 family members and close associates.

“What we’re talking about here is seizing their assets, seizing their yachts and making it harder for them to send, you know, their children to colleges and universities in the West,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday. “These are significant steps that will impact the people who are closely around President Putin.”

Others impacted in the Biden administration’s sanctions Thursday include Shuvalov, Nikolai Tokarev, the president of pipeline company Transneft; Boris Rotenberg, who co-owns SGM Group, a pipeline construction firm, and his brother, billionaire Arkady Rotenberg; and Sergei Chemezov, CEO of state-owned conglomerate and former KGB.

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