The European Union is readying an "immediate set" of sanctions punishing Russia for its recognition of two separatist regions in Ukraine, two E.U. diplomats told The New York Times Tuesday.
The sanctions will target "people, government and business entities in the separatist regions and in Russia," and will be further reviewed at a meeting of E.U. foreign ministers in Paris later Tuesday. The ambassadors hope to then approve the measures by Tuesday evening, though it's possible the discussion could bleed into early Wednesday, writes the Times.
The draft is said to include "27 individuals and entities, including political, military, business and financial entities, as well as 'propagandists' linked to the recognition decision," the Times writes, per the diplomats. Though some targeted individuals are located geographically inside the separatist Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, the list also currently includes the members of Russian Parliament who proposed the recognition of the areas, as well as those who voted in favor of the decision.
Such individuals and affected entities "would be subject to European Union-wide asset freezes and travel bans," the Times adds.
Notably, the E.U. has plans to implement more broad-reaching sanctions if Russia moves on Ukraine in a way that constitutes a full-fledged invasion.
The U.S. will announce its own set of new sanctions on Moscow on Tuesday. Earlier, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline running from Russia to Germany would be halted.
