EU TO SANCTION FOUR FOR ARREST OF NAVALNY

EU foreign ministers agreed Monday to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, shown above.

The agreement, expected to be approved in early March, came after France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states urged the bloc to send a message to Putin.

One EU diplomat said the proposed new travel bans and asset freezes would target Alexander Bastrykin, whose Investigative Committee reports directly to Putin; Igor Krasnov, who became Russia’s prosecutor-general a year ago; Viktor Zolotov, head of Russia’s National Guard, who publicly threatened Navalny in 2018; and Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the federal prison service.