The European Union released the names of 15 new sanctions targets today because of their roles in the Ukraine crisis.

The list included General Valery Gerasimov, Russian chief of general staff, and Lieutenant General Igor Sergun, head of Russian military intelligence agency GRU.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak and pro-Russian leaders in Crimea and the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk were also on the list.

The decision by the EU governments’ ambassadors brings the number of individuals targeted by EU sanctions to 48.

European sanctions come after the US decided to broaden its own sanctions to include seven Russian officials and 17 companies.

The EU is Russia’s biggest trading partner, giving it greater economic leverage over Moscow than the US.

However, it treads carefully in imposing sanctions since Russia is one of its biggest oil and gas suppliers and the bloc has shied away from targeting specific Russian companies.

Via Morning Star