Canada targets Putin’s daughters, 12 other Russians, in new round of sanctions

Canada has hit 14 more Russians with sanctions for their close ties with President Vladimir Putin, including his two daughters.

Maria Vorontsova, 36, and her 35-year-old sister Katerina Tikhonova are named on the list released Tuesday.

The federal government said the two, as well as a dozen other Russians, are facing sanctions because they are close associates of Putin and are complicit in Russia’s “unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.”

“Canada continues to stand by the brave men and women fighting for their freedom in Ukraine. We will continue to impose severe costs on the Russian regime in coordination with our allies and will relentlessly pursue accountability for their actions. They will answer for their crimes,” Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a release.

In a tweet, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the government won’t relent on holding people close to Putin accountable for the conflict.

Related: Canada sanctions 160 more Russians over Ukraine war

Since February, the federal government has placed sanctions on more than 750 individuals and entities, mainly from Russia and Belarus.

Allies who have targeted the sisters and other Putin family members, including the United States, have done so because they believe the Russian leader has hidden his assets with them.

Cassian Soltykevych with the Ukrainian Canadian Congress told CityNews he is happy the federal government is targeting Russia’s elite, especially those that have assets in democratic allies.

“When you’re waging war and when you’re hurting people, and when you’re committing war crimes, you and your citizens and the children of oligarchs should not be allowed … to take advantage of what we’ve been able to produce as democracies around the world,” he said.

The latest sanctions came as Trudeau took part in a meeting on Ukraine with other world leaders being hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden, in which they were expected to coordinate efforts on the next steps.

Soltykevych says he is looking for more details from the Canadian government on its promise of $500 million in new military aid for Ukraine.

“The faster we can arm Ukraine and support them and support their military, the faster they can defeat this army that’s trying to wipe them off the face of the earth,” he said.