EU Plans to Freeze Assets of Putin and Lavrov

The EU is set to freeze the assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, reports the Financial Times, citing informed sources.

Earlier, the press secretary of the Russian President, Dmitry Peskov, commented on the calls from Washington to freeze "Putin's assets," stating that the head of state keeps his money in "Rossiya" bank, which is already under sanctions. He also noted that sanctions are not painful for any representative of the Russian Federation’s top leadership.

The European Union plans to freeze Vladimir Putin's and Sergei Lavrov's assets as part of a sanctions package set to be published on Friday. However, as the newspaper notes, there are no plans to impose travel bans on them, which often include personal sanctions.

"This issue was discussed by leaders late Thursday evening, and many of them supported this idea," the newspaper writes.