EU slaps new sanctions on Russia, separatists

The European Union published a new list of Ukrainians and Russians targeted with sanctions for undermining Ukraine's independence on Monday, including Russian singer Iosif Kobzon and two Russian deputy defence ministers. The EU's latest list of 19 people and nine organisations hit with asset freezes and travel bans was dominated by Ukrainian separatists with a handful of Russians.

The bloc went ahead with publishing the list despite a ceasefire taking effect over the weekend in eastern Ukraine. The most eye-catching name on the list was that of Kobzon, a singer sometimes dubbed Russia's equivalent of Frank Sinatra.

Kobzon, 77, also a member of the state Duma or parliament, was listed because he "visited the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and during his visit made statements supporting separatists," according to the EU's Official Journal. Also named were Russian First Deputy Defence Minister Arkady Bakhin, Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov and Andrei Kartapolov, deputy chief of the general staff of the Russian armed forces.

The list included armed Ukrainian separatist groups such as the Cossack National Guard, the Sparta Battalion and the Death Battalion and leaders of a number of separatist groups.