(Archived Content)
Action Targets 24 Ukrainian and Russian Separatist Leaders,
a Financier, and the Militias or Entities they Lead
Complements Action Taken by the President to Ban Investment in and Trade with Crimea
WASHINGTON – In light of the continued conflict in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s continued disregard for its obligations under the Minsk agreements, which fuels the continued conflict, the U.S. Department of the Treasury today imposed sanctions pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13660 on 24 Ukrainian and Russian-backed separatists and the militias or entities they lead or support. The individuals and entities sanctioned today were designated for being responsible for, or complicit in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine, or for being militias or entities, and/or asserting governmental authority over a part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine.
This action complements the step taken by President Obama today to issue an E.O. that prohibits new investment in the Crimea region of Ukraine by U.S. persons; the importation of any goods, services, or technology from the Crimea region of Ukraine into the United States; the exportation, reexportation, sale, or supply of any goods, services, or technology from the United States to the Crimea region of Ukraine; and any approval, financing, facilitation, or guarantee by a U.S. person of any such transaction by a foreign person. This new E.O. also authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to impose sanctions on any person determined to be operating in the Crimea region of Ukraine, to be a leader of an entity operating in the Crimea region of Ukraine, or to be owned or controlled by, or to provide material support to any person designated under this E.O. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is simultaneously issuing a general license to authorize the sale of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical supplies to the Crimea region of Ukraine.
Both of these actions complement recent measures taken by the European Union. Our efforts respond to actions by Russia, and the separatists Russia supports, which destabilize and undermine the territorial integrity of Ukraine. These actions also reflect the ongoing close collaboration between the United States and European Union on our respective sanctions programs. As the President has said, our goal is to promote a diplomatic solution that provides a lasting resolution to the conflict and helps to promote growth and stability in Ukraine and regionally, including in Russia. In this context, the President has continued to call on Russia's leadership to implement the Minsk agreements and to reach a lasting and comprehensive resolution to the conflict that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“These actions target people who are undermining peace and stability in Ukraine and impose additional costs on Russia for its destabilizing actions,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen. “Alongside our partners in Europe and around the world, we call on Russia to end its occupation and attempted annexation of Crimea, to cease its support to separatists in eastern Ukraine, and to implement the obligations it signed up to under the Minsk agreements. The ball is in Russia’s court; if it implements its commitments and abides by international law, sanctions could be rolled back.”
Vladimir Antyufeyev was appointed “deputy prime minister” of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic in July 2014. He was engaged in separatist “governmental” activities on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and was responsible for its domestic security and law enforcement. Antyufeyev is being designated because he has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and was responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Fedor Berezin served as the deputy to Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Igor Strelkov), “defense minister” of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Berezin continues to play a leadership role in the separatist region’s armed forces following Girkin’s August 2014 resignation. Berezin is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, has acted on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and is a leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
Igor Bezler is a former Russian military officer who has actively coordinated subversion activities in Ukrainian territory. Bezler served in the Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) of the General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces until 2002 and was then sent to Ukraine. In April, Bezler ordered the arrest and kidnapping of OSCE representatives. Bezler is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
The Donbass People’s Militia is being designated because of the group’s engagement in actions and policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The Donbass People’s Militia is an armed pro-Russian separatist group of rebels fighting Government of Ukraine forces in eastern Ukraine and threatening the stability and security of Ukraine in the Donetsk region. This militia seized control of several government buildings in eastern Ukraine in early April 2014 and under the command of its former leader, Pavel Gubarev, took over the regional government building in Donetsk while Gubarev proclaimed himself the “people’s governor.” Its forces have been involved in organizing “referendums” on Donetsk’s future without the involvement of the Government of Ukraine.
Pavel Gubarev was the self-proclaimed “governor” of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, an entity that was designated pursuant to E.O. 13660 on July 16, 2014. Gubarev has been described as one of the three most prominent leaders of the separatists in southeast Ukraine. In March 2014, Gubarev was detained by Ukraine’s Security Service during a media conference in Donetsk and then moved to a detention center in Kyiv. He is facing charges of separatism, organizing mass disorder, and infringing Ukrainian territorial integrity. Gubarev is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine and is a leader of an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Alexei Karyakin is speaker of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic Council of Ministers. Karyakin signed a memorandum uniting the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on May 24, 2014. On June 20, 2014 Karyakin addressed a letter to Belarusian President Lukashenka and the national assembly of Belarus requesting that Belarus recognize the independence of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic. On June 25, 2014 he declared the separatist regions’ intent to seek accession to the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Karyakin is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has asserted governmental authority over a region of Ukraine.
Alexander Khryakov was the self-proclaimed “information and mass communications minister” of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and was responsible for directing its pro-separatist propaganda activities. Khryakov is now a member of the council for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Khryakov is being designated because he has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Nikolai Kozitsyn is described as one of the first-hand organizers and coordinators of the separatist actions in Ukraine and is responsible for forming separatist groups on the territory of Ukraine. He also provides separatists with weapons and sends them to Ukraine. Kozitsyn is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Konstantin Malofeyev funds separatist activities in eastern Ukraine and is closely linked with Aleksandr Borodai, Igor Girkin (a.k.a. Igot Strelkov), and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, which have all been previously sanctioned as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs). Malofeyev is one of the main sources of financing for Russians promoting separatism in Crimea. Malofeyev is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine and has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
Malofeyev owns the Marshall Capital Fund, which is a Russian equity investment group. The Marshall Capital Fund is being designated because it is owned or controlled by Malofeyev.
Aleksey Mozgovy is described as the commander of a separatist force in Ukraine’s Luhansk region. He is responsible for training separatists to fight against the Government of Ukraine forces and has called for regions in Ukraine’s southeast to unite in order to achieve their separatist objectives. Mozgovy is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine and is a leader of an entity that has, or whose members have, engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Dmitry Neklyudov was appointed “deputy minister of interior of the so-called Republic of Crimea on May 5, 2014. Neklyudov is being designated because he has asserted governmental authority over a region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine.
The Novorossiya Party was created to unite all supporters for the establishment of an independent federal state of Novorossiya and to withdraw all southeastern lands in Ukraine from the authority of Kyiv. The Novorossiya Party is being designated because it has engaged in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Oplot is one of the militias that is attempting to assert control over the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. In April, its members occupied the Donetsk city council building, and the militia pushed for the holding of a “referendum” on the territorial status of the Donetsk Region. Oplot is being designated because it is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine, and actions or polices that threaten the peace security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Igor Plotnitsky, an ex-Soviet army officer, was “elected” head of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic in unrecognized “elections” that took place on November 2, 2014, which also included ballots from polling stations in Russia. Plotnitsky became the leader of the separatists in Luhansk in February 2014. In April, he became the first commander of the so-called Zarya (Dawn) separatist battalion and in May 2014, he took the position of Defense Minister of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic. Plotnitsky is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine and has asserted governmental authority over a part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine.
Natalia Poklonskaya was appointed as the de facto prosecutor of the so-called Republic of Crimea in May 2014 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. A Ukraine court in Kyiv ordered Poklonskaya’s detention on suspicion of subverting Ukraine’s constitutional system and seizing state power. She is accused of having accepted an illegal offer to head the Crimean prosecutor’s office and has illegally taken office. Poklonskaya is being designated because she has asserted governmental authority over a part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine.
Miroslav Rudenko is described as an official of the government of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and he is also the deputy commander of its defense forces. He rejected Ukrainian President Poroshenko’s unilateral cease-fire offer as a “tactical ploy” and refused to negotiate on the organization of the Ukrainian presidential elections in Donetsk. Rudenko is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, has acted on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and is a leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
Petr Savchenko was the “minister of taxes and duties” of the so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic and is now a member of its council. Savchenko is being designated because he is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, actions or polices that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Savchenko is the Chief Executive, Principal and Senior Executive of PROFAKTOR, TOV, which specializes in accounting, auditing and bookkeeping in Ukraine. PROFAKTOR, TOV is being designated because it is owned or controlled by, or has acted or purported to act for or on behalf, directly or indirectly, of Savchenko.
Oleh Tsaryov is a leader of the separatist South-East Movement and chairman of the parliament of the union of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. Tsaryov is additionally a member of the Committee for Public Support for the Inhabitants of Southeast Ukraine, operating under the auspices of the Russian parliament, providing volunteers and military material to separatists in eastern Ukraine. Tsaryov is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has asserted governmental authority over a region of Ukraine.
The South-East Movement (Yugo-Vostok Movement) promotes the creation of a separate pro-Russian state in southeast Ukraine and was banned in Ukraine in August 2014. The South-East Movement is being designated because it has engaged in actions which threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, and for being controlled by Tsaryov.
Alexander Zakharchenko was declared the winner of a recent unrecognized election in the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko denounced the November 2, 2014 “elections” in the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as an “electoral farce” and stated that they violated the September 5, 2014 Minsk Accord. Prior to claiming the position of prime minister, Zakharchenko was a commander in the insurgency against the government of Ukraine. He is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine, has acted on behalf of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, and is a leader of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
The Night Wolves biker group had its members serve in the Crimean self-defense forces as early as February 2014, which supported local Crimeans against the Government of Ukraine. In March 2014, the Night Wolves conducted intimidation and criminal activities within Ukraine and also abducted and subsequently assaulted a Ukrainian Border Guard official. This biker group also participated in the storming of the gas distribution station in Strikolkove and the storming of the Ukrainian Naval Forces Headquarters in Sevastopol. In early-April 2014, the Night Wolves helped smuggle a former senior Ukrainian official out of Ukraine and also helped obtain Russian passports for another larger group of senior Ukrainian officials that they helped get into Russia. The Night Wolves have been closely connected to the Russian special services, have helped to recruit separatist fighters for Donetsk and Luhansk, Ukraine, and were deployed to the cities of Luhansk and Kharkiv. The Night Wolves group is being designated because it is an entity that is responsible for or complicit in, or has engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
Aleksandr Zaldostanov, also known as “the Surgeon,” is the leader of the Night Wolves. Zaldostanov chairs the overall Night Wolves organization, and some of his responsibilities include the punishing of chapter groups and members for disloyalty to the Night Wolves organization. During the late-March storming of the Ukrainian Naval Forces Headquarters in Sevastopol, he coordinated the confiscation of Ukrainian weapons with the Russian forces. Zaldostanov is being designated for being a leader of a group, the Night Wolves, that is engaging in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine.
For identifying information on the individuals and entities named in this release, please click here.
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