Ukraine Update: Canada Follows U.S. Lead; Expands Sanctions Against Individuals and Companies (with Turza Comment)

Following the U.S. Government's action on Friday, April 11, 2014 to impose travel bans and asset freezes on a limited number of additional Crimean individuals and entities, Canada announced on Saturday that it had named two of the same individuals – Mikhail Malyshev and Valery Medvedev – to its own sanctions list. Those individuals were named to EU and U.K. sanctions lists on March 21, 2014. Like the United States, Canada also imposed sanctions against Chernomorneftegaz, a subsidiary of the Ukrainian state-owned Naftogaz oil and gas company that was seized by the breakaway Crimean parliament on March 18, 2014. (See our April 11, 2014 news item regarding the U.S. action on Friday.) To date, Chernomorneftegaz has not been named to the EU, U.K., or any other country's sanctions list. An updated list of all individuals and entities subject to Russia and Ukraine-related sanctions is available here.

James Treanor and Keith Gerver, associates in Cadwalader's Washington Office, have been monitoring the U.S. response to the Ukrainian situation.

Turza Comment: The standoff in eastern Ukraine turned violent over the weekend, and U.S. and European leaders accused Russia of fomenting the unrest. With Russian forces reportedly amassed across the border, the situation remains volatile.For the moment, the United States and other Western countries appear content to tweak their existing sanctions lists, seeking to present a united front by bringing their respective sanctions regimes in line with each other. For example, New Zealand announced "symbolic" travel bans in solidarity with its European and American allies. The Swiss, meanwhile, declared that financial intermediaries based in Switzerland may no longer enter into new business relationships with the 33 individuals named by the European Union on March 17 and 21. According to an official statement from Bern, this move was taken "to prevent creating the perception that Switzerland's financial centre could benefit from the EU sanctions." While broad support appears to exist for the current targeted sanctions, a significant deterioration in the situation across the Russian-Ukrainian border surely will lead to renewed calls for more significant restrictions, which may force tough choices and threaten the relative solidarity that exists today.

Related news: U.S. Imposes Further Sanctions on Russia (with Turza Comment) (April 11, 2014); List of Sanctioned Russian and Ukrainian Individuals and Entities (April 4, 2014); The Latest on Ukraine (with Turza Comment) (April 2, 2014); Ukraine Update (with Turza Comment)(March 27, 2014); U.S. Issues Executive Order, House Resolution and More Sanctions Regarding the Ukraine Situation (with Turza Comment) (March 21, 2014); Sanctions against Russia and Ukraine (with Turza Comment) (March 17, 2014); Ukraine Update (with Turza Comment) (March 14, 2014); Congressional Actions with Regard to Ukraine (with Turza Comment) (March 12, 2014); Ukrainian Sanctions (with Turza Comment) (March 10, 2014).