WASHINGTON – The United States has announced a series of sanctions targeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sergey Lavrov as a result of similar measures taken Friday by both the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union.

Putin and Lavrov now join an increasing number of Russian elite government officials sanctioned as a response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine.

The United States announced two times this week new sanctions against Russia’s biggest banks and sovereign debt. This will cut them off from the U.S. bank system.

Russia invaded Ukraine unprovoked on Wednesday. It sent tens to thousands of troops into many cities in Ukraine with the apparent goal of seizing Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.

The threat of severe sanctions was a tactic used by the Biden administration to deter Putin in the weeks before the invasion.

This strategy didn’t work this week and the White House has changed their message to highlight the negative consequences of sanctions.

However, it is not clear how effective individual sanctions against Putin are.

Putin publicly claims his salary of roughly $140,000 as his only source of income, and lists his assets as two apartments and a few vehicles.

Putin is actually living in a larger home than Buckingham Palace. It has been photographed repeatedly wearing watchesThis could have cost you hundreds of thousands of money.

Former Kremlin insiders agree that Putin is an asset. billions of dollarsHe also uses global shadow banking to conceal his wealth.

The investigation published in October 2021 by the Pandora Papers, found that Putin may also be in control of assets in Europe. Leaked documents revealed a $4.1 million apartment in MonacoThe Russian lady who owned the property was not able to provide any income but had romantic connections with Putin over many years.

Svetlana Krivonogikh was the same woman who was listed in 2010 as the owner of a shell business. She was then one of the largest shareholders of a Russian-linked bank sanctioned in 2014 by the United States.

Ukrainian diplomats will welcome the United States’ sanctions on Putin.

Oksana Marova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, stated Friday that sanctions against Putin would be “the right thing”.

Markarova was the former Minister for Finance. She welcomed the European Union’s decision not to sanction Putin or Sergey Lavrov as Russian Foreign Ministers.

Markarova also said that Kyiv was grateful for the sanctions announced Thursday by the Biden administration.

“I was extremely happy to view the sanctions against large Russian banks. She said that she was happy to have seen their export controls and the personal sanctions.