By Adrian Croft
BRUSSELS, Feb 16 (Reuters) – A veteran Russian singer who voiced support for Russia’s annexation of Crimea has been subjected to EU sanctions in a new blacklist published by the European Union on Monday.
Moscow said the EU had “contradict(ed) common sense” by imposing new sanctions one day after the start of a ceasefire in the conflict between Kiev and Russian-backed rebels.
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Also on the new sanctions list were Russian First Deputy Defense Minister Arkady Bakhin and Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, for supporting the deployment of Russian troops to Ukraine, and Andrei Kartapolov, deputy chief of the general staff, for shaping the Russian military campaign, the EU said.
Russia denies it has soldiers operating in eastern Ukraine. (Additional reporting by Tim Heritage and Alexander Winning in Moscow; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
