MOSCOW, April 29 (RIA Novosti) – A senior commander of self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine, Sergei Tsyplakov, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday he took “immense pride” in being targeted by European Union sanctions.
“I am immensely proud of it,” Tsyplakov said, adding that he had laughed at the news of the EU’s decision to ban him from travelling to Europe and freeze his alleged assets there.
On Tuesday, the European Union’s Decision Council agreed to expand the US list of sanctions published Monday.
It added a total of 15 Russian and Ukrainian individuals, including Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak, Chief of General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov and intelligence director Igor Segun, as well as six leaders of self-defense forces in Ukraine’s southeast.
On Monday, the US imposed sanctions on 17 Russian companies and “seven Russian government officials, including two members of President Putin’s inner circle."
Protesters in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Gorlovka, Slaviansk and Kramatorsk refuse to recognize the legitimacy of the current Ukrainian government and are urging interim authorities to hold referendums similar to the one held in Crimea last month, which led to the republic’s reunification with Russia.
