On Thursday, the European Union imposed sanctions against 7 Russian figures, due to the poisoning of Russian opposition Alexei Navalny, and the Russian role in Libya.
The sanctions related to the Libya file included businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been dubbed “Putin’s cook” because the restaurant company he runs has worked for the Kremlin.
The European Union attributed the sanctions against Prigozhin, for its association with the private military group “Wagner”, which is accused of violating the arms embargo imposed by the United Nations on Libya.
The union said that Prigozhin “undermines peace, stability, and security in Libya by supporting the Wagner Group, which is carrying out military activities.”
The sanctions include a travel ban to the European Union, an asset freeze, and a financial deal ban.
In the context, the European Union imposed sanctions against 6 Russian officials in the intelligence and security services, as well as the National Institute for Research in Organic Chemistry and Technology , over the Navalny poisoning case.
The sanctions included the Director of the Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov , the two Deputy Defense Minister Pavel Popov and Alexei Krivoruchko , as well as the First Vice President of the Presidential Cabinet Sergey Kiriyenko , the Chief of the Office for Internal Policy Affairs Andrei Yarin , and the authorized representative in Siberia Sergey Minyilo .
The health of the Russian opponent, Alexei Navalny, deteriorated during a flight on August 20, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in the Russian city of Omsk.
The German government announced that Navalny had been poisoned with the nerve gas “Novichok”, after his transfer to Berlin for treatment.
And both the United States and the European Union called on Russia to open an investigation into the “poisoning” of Navalny, while Moscow said it was ready to conduct a comprehensive and objective investigation into what happened with the opposition.
