Canada is sanctioning Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 two adult daughters, as part of a fresh round of punitive measures of Putin, including Russian oligarchs and their family members.
The pair鈥擬ariya Vorontsova (Putina) and Katerina Tikhonova鈥� are now subject to fiscal and other penalties, as part of a growing list under the 鈥淪pecial Economic Measures Act鈥� that their father is already on.
Putin rarely speaks about his daughters, their identities have never been confirmed by the Kremlin, and neither woman has confirmed publicly that the Russian leader is her father.
The United States moved to sanction the daughters a few weeks ago. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau鈥檚 government is following suit, after a host of world leaders met virtually on Tuesday morning to discuss the war in Ukraine.
鈥淲e continue to monitor the situation and co-ordinate actions to respond to Putin's terrible, illegal invasion,鈥� Trudeau told reporters at an event in New Brunswick on Tuesday.
Mariya is a doctor who, according to the U.S. government, "leads state-funded programs that have received billions of dollars from the Kremlin toward genetics research and are personally overseen by Putin.鈥� Katerina has been described as a 鈥渢ech executive whose work supports the GoR [Russian government] and defence industry.鈥�
Canada鈥檚 new imposition of sanctions targets 14 individuals. Among the other prominent figures targeted are Russian billioniare and banking magnates Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman, entrepreneur and investor Oleg Boyko, and energy, real estate and retail billionare Mikhail Gutseriev.
The federal government has also sanctioned Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov鈥檚 wife Maria Lavrova and daughter Yekaterina Vinokurova.
鈥淭hese actions demonstrate that Canada will not relent in holding Russian President Vladimir Putin and his associates accountable for their complicity in the Russian regime鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine,鈥� read a statement from Global Affairs Canada.
At the outset of Russia鈥檚 invasion, Canada鈥檚 imposition of sanctions were framed as efforts to cut off Putin and his allies from their financial assets, and broadly impose international pressure to end the attacks.
Many weeks later, the attacks continue and the federal government says there is ample evidence that Russian forces are 鈥渃ommitting serious atrocities and human rights violations in Ukraine, including war crimes and likely crimes against humanity.鈥�
Pledging to continue with further measures to respond to Russia鈥檚 violence and hold Putin accountable, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said in a statement that Canada will 鈥渃ontinue to impose severe costs鈥� on Russia, who she says 鈥渨ill answer for their crimes.鈥�
PROMISE OF ARTILLERY
Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada will also be sending 鈥渉eavy artillery鈥� to Ukraine in the near future. The prime minister said it was a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, because that is the phase that the war is in right now.
鈥淯krainians have fought like heroes over the past number of months,鈥� Trudeau said. 鈥淲e're very responsive to what it is that they need most specifically.鈥�
The government has broadly promised to continue sending lethal and non-lethal aid, in addition to sending money and offering humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
His office was not able to provide additional details, nor was Defence Minister Anita Anand's office.
With files from Senior Political Correspondent for 麻豆影视 Channel Mike Le Couteur, and CTVNews.ca鈥檚 Nicole Bogart
