On Tuesday, March 7, the European Union approved sanctions against nine individuals and three legal entities involved in cases of sexual violence against women during the war in Ukraine.
This is reported by Europa Press.
On the eve of International Women's Day, the European bloc added to its "blacklist" police and military commanders responsible for repression against the Ukrainian population, and, in particular, four leaders responsible for leading military units involved in sexual assaults on women during the invasion.
This is the first time that the EU has applied a human rights sanctions regime to cases of sexual violence against women.
The publication notes that Russian division commander Mykola Kuznetsov and Colonel Ramil Ibatullin, whose units systematically committed acts of sexual violence against women between March and April 2022, were included in the sanctions list.
"The scale and severity of sexual and gender-based violence in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine suggests systematic planning. Commanders knew about sexual violence by servicemen in Ukraine and, in some cases, encouraged and ordered it," the legal text accompanying the sanctions reads.
Officials of Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, and South Sudan were also sanctioned.
At the same time, the list of sanctions included the Republican Guard of Syria, the military and security headquarters of Myanmar, and an Iranian prison.
All persons on the black list are prohibited from entering the EU territory, and their financial assets, if they are found in European banks, are subject to freezing.
It will be recalled that the EU decided to change its approach to sanctions against Russia.