White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese announced Wednesday that the administration would be imposing a new round of sanctions specifically targeting the adult children of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Mr. Desse said the move was needed because Mr. Putin had likely hidden millions in personal assets with members of his family to avoid scrutiny.
“Anyone who looks at the Russian economy right now and thinks they’re bouncing back or showing some signs of life is I think missing the forests for the trees,” Mr. Deese said at a breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor.
The White House’s announcement comes after Mr. Putin and his forces have been accused of war crimes in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Mr. Deese said the sanctions will also target two of Russia’s largest banks, Sberbank and Alfa Bank, as well as the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Officials say the punitive measures will ramp up pressure on Russia.
“Most estimates are the Russian economy is now on track to contract by 10% to 15% over the course of this year, which would be historic,” Mr. Deese said.
Mr. Putin’s daughters, Mariya Putina and Katerina Tikhonova, are both in their 30s. Little is known about them because of the Putin regime’s years of intense media censorship.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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