Timati and the Director of the Hermitage Included in the 20th EU Sanctions Package 0 13

In the new, 20th package of sanctions imposed by the European Union due to Russia's ongoing war against Ukraine, a number of Russian figures supporting this military aggression are listed. The EU announced personal sanctions against 37 individuals responsible for actions that undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine or threaten them, the EU Council stated on Thursday, April 23.

Timati Supports Putin and the Annexation of Crimea

Among the new individuals on the list is Russian rapper and entrepreneur Timati (Timur Yunusov). Brussels clarified that he supported Vladimir Putin's candidacy in the presidential elections, participated in Putin's election campaigns, and was even one of his trusted representatives.

Timati "supports Russian aggression against Ukraine by spreading Kremlin propaganda narratives and symbols of the so-called 'special military operation' and expressing a willingness to personally fight against Ukraine." He supported the Russian annexation of Crimea and participated in several events there afterward, as well as speaking at a propaganda rally on March 18, 2022, at Luzhniki, it was further noted.

Piotrovsky - Close Associate of Putin

Also under sanctions is the director of the Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky - "a close associate of Vladimir Putin, actively supporting and justifying" the war he unleashed against Ukraine. Piotrovsky supported a law that allows artifacts from Ukrainian museums to be included in the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation, and the Hermitage under his leadership conducted unauthorized archaeological excavations in Crimea, including the destruction of protected Ukrainian heritage sites, the EU Council noted.

Among other new individuals on the EU blacklist are Major General Alexey Rtishchev, head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, and his deputy Major General Andrey Marchenko. The troops they command "systematically use chemical weapons against Ukraine as part of a broader Russian strategy to weaken and destabilize" the country, the document explains.

Participants in the Scheme of Prohibited Supplies of Chemical Raw Materials from Germany

The sanctions list also includes participants in the uncovered scheme of supplying high-purity hydrogen chloride from Germany to Russia, bypassing sanctions, a critically important chemical product for processing semiconductor wafers. EU personal sanctions have been imposed against Alexander Zhdanov, a shareholder of the German company UrSeCo Handels, suspected of participating in the prohibited export, which was previously detailed in a journalistic investigation.

Zhdanov's son, also Alexander Zhdanov, is the majority shareholder of the Russian company Siltron, which purchases hydrogen chloride produced in Germany, the EU Council reported. In connection with these supplies, the director of the Kazakh company United Trading Group, Alimzhan Bekov, who participated in circumventing the penalties, has also been sanctioned.

Thus, the number of individuals sanctioned for the war in Ukraine has increased to 2022, according to the statement. The 20th sanctions package against Russia was approved by the EU Council on April 23 after Hungary lifted its veto.