WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The US Department of the Treasury added six Russian lawmakers to the Ukraine-related sanctions list, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a statement.
The lawmakers sanctioned on Monday included Dmitry Anatolievich Belik, Ruslan Ismailovich Balbek, Konstantin Mikhailovich Bakharev, Andrey Dmitrievich Kozenko, Svetlana Borisovna Savchenko and Pavel Valentinovich Shperov, according to the Treasury.
"Today’s action was closely coordinated with the EU, underscoring the strength of the US-EU partnership in maintaining pressure on Russia until it respects the security and sovereignty of Ukraine," OFAC Acting Director John Smith stated.
Last week, the European Union added the same six lawmakers to its Crimea-related sanctions list, which imposes an asset freeze and travel ban.
Belik, Kozenko, Bakharev and Savchenko currently represent constituencies in Crimea and Sevastopol in the Russian State Duma.
Additionally, Balbek and Shperov held local government positions in Crimea after 2014 and were later elected to the Duma.
In 2014, relations between the United States and Russia deteriorated significantly as the crisis in Ukraine escalated, with Crimea rejoining Russia and pro-independence eastern Ukrainian militias rising up against Kiev's rule.
The United States and its allies, accusing Moscow of fuelling tensions in eastern Ukraine, introduced a series of sanctions against Russia as a punitive measure.
Moscow refuted any involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and imposed a year-long food embargo on the countries that had sanctioned it, which was later prolonged as the sanctions were extended.