Washington, April 6 ( /Sputnik) New sanctions targeting top Russian officials and their families are about advancing US and Ukrainian interests and not provoking an emotional reaction, State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Wednesday. The ted States earlier on Wednesday announced additional sanctions on people including the adult daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as well as the wife and daughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. “Everything we have done has sought to turn up the pressure on Vladimir Putin and the key decision-makers around him. This is not about emotion, this is about what’s in our national interest, it’s about what’s in the interest of the Ukrainian people,” Price said during an interview with CNN when asked if the sanctions were intended to anger Putin. The new round of sanctions announced by the US on Wednesday also targeted Russian financial institutions and state-owned enterprises, with over two-thirds of its banking sector currently blocked by sanctions, according to a senior administration official. /SPUTNIK MYK
