This alert provides an overview of the sanctions that are currently in place as a result of events currently occurring in Ukraine. It covers the EU sanctions which are currently limited to asset freezes on Victor Yanukoviych, other officials of the former Ukrainian government and some of their close relatives and alleged associates. President Obama has also signed an executive order that would make it possible for the US to impose similar sanctions quickly, although none were immediately imposed. The US, EU and various other countries have suspended various forms of diplomatic cooperation with Russia, for example, bilateral trade and investment discussions.

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1. Limited EU sanctions
1. On March 6, 2014, the EU announced limited economic sanctions freezing the assets of Viktor Yanukovych, other officials of the former Ukrainian government, and a few of their close relatives and alleged associates.
2. The EU listed 18 such individuals, including Viktor Yanukovych and members of his family. The full EU list is available here. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2014:066:0001:0010:EN:PDF
3. On the same day, Canada imposed its own asset freeze on the same individuals.
4. Over the preceding week, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Lithuania had imposed similar sanctions, or adopted a policy of denying visas to particular individuals. The lists of targeted individuals in some of these countries are not identical to the list targeted by EU and Canadian sanctions.
2. No US sanctions to date
1. Also on March 6, President Obama signed an Executive Order that would make it possible for the US to impose similar sanctions quickly, although none were immediately imposed.
2. The order could be used to sanction any individual or entity which the US government determines to be engaging in specified activities relating to Ukraine.
3. The property within the US of any person targeted under the order would be blocked (frozen), and US persons would generally be prohibited from dealing with such persons.
4. The US has already imposed visa restrictions, administered by the US Department of State, denying certain persons entry into the US. The identity of these individuals is not publicly available.
3. Other sanctions and trade measures
1. The US, EU and various other countries have suspended various forms of diplomatic cooperation with Russia, for example, bilateral trade and investment discussions.
2. The G-8 members (apart from Russia) apparently agreed to suspend their participation in preparing for the G-8 Summit in Sochi, which was planned for June.
3. The EU and US have suggested that, if Russia and the new Ukraine government do not commence negotiations in the near future, or if such negotiations produce no results, the EU and US will decide on additional measures, including additional travel bans and asset freezes.
4. No sanctions have been imposed on Russia, or Russian officials or companies, though some EU members and the US have suggested that such sanctions are a possibility if the situation in Ukraine does not de-escalate.
5. The US Congress is reported to be preparing draft legislation relating to potential sanctions on Russia.

This article is available.  http://www.freshfields.com/en/knowledge/Ukraine_/_Russia_sanctions_alert/