Prime Minister Stephen Harper today issued the following statement announcing additional economic sanctions and travel bans against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals, and economic sanctions against 22 Russian and Ukrainian groups and economic entities:

“The Putin regime’s continued illegal occupation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and its provocative military activity in eastern Ukraine remains a grave concern to Canada and the international community.

“Last week, Canada announced its intent to impose additional sanctions on Russia to further increase economic and political pressure on the Putin regime and those closest to it.

“Today, we are announcing those measures, which include additional economic sanctions and travel bans against Russian and Ukrainian individuals, and economic sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian entities. These sanctions, imposed in close coordination with partners in the United States and Europe, will further increase pressure on those responsible for the crisis in Ukraine. Export restrictions announced by the European Union with respect to military and military dual-use goods destined to Russia, are already in place in Canada. We are also committed to imposing the necessary regulations to enact export restrictions on technologies used in Russia’s oil exploration and extraction sector. Those will be implemented in parallel with our allies.

“President Putin has not provided any indication that he is prepared to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity or use his control over Russian-backed agents to end the violence in Ukraine. On the contrary, reports indicate that, despite the criminal downing of MH 17, Russia continues to provide logistical support and sophisticated weapons to its agents in eastern Ukraine.

“Together with our allies and partners, we stand ready to take further actions if the Putin regime’s military aggression continues.”

- See more at: http://pm.gc.ca/eng/news/2014/08/06/statement-prime-minister-canada-announcing-additional-sanctions#sthash.dJwuVFh8.dpuf