The European Union has decided to impose individual sanctions against Russian Olympic champion in gymnastics Nikita Nagorny, according to an EU statement released on Monday. The sanctions have been imposed based on the fact that Nikita Nagorny allegedly supported the Russian special military operation and had allegedly spoken against Ukraine’s territorial integrity and independence.
Besides winning the gold at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Nagorny, 28, also won two bronze medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (in the men’s all-around and horizontal bars events) as well as a silver at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro (in the men’s team event).
Earlier in the day, the European Union (EU) unveiled a new package of sanctions against Russia, imposing new restrictions on a number of Russian banks, media outlets, and naval vessels. The EU’s move follows recent progress in the restoration of Russia-US relations after a meeting of high-ranking Russian and American officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier in the month.
The Russian and US delegations held negotiations in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on February 18 that lasted about four and a half hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff participated in the discussions on behalf of the United States.