Permanent representatives of the 27 EU member states have agreed on new sanctions against Russia over the situation around blogger Alexei Navalny, RIA Novosti has reported, citing its own sources. The names of those on the list are expected to become known this week.

Recall that the decision on restrictive measures against a number of Russian citizens was taken on February 22 by the foreign ministers of the European Union. They will take effect after the announcement of the list, which is expected to include the heads of the Investigative Committee, FSIN, Rosgvardia and the Prosecutor-General’s Office.

Brussels decided on the restrictive measures under the EU’s new global human rights sanctions regime, its first-ever application. The regime was proposed to be named after Navalny, but the idea was rejected.

The Russian Foreign Ministry criticised the decision, saying the EU was acting on anti-Russian stereotypes and pushing the dysfunctional sanctions “button” against logic. Andrey Klimov, a member of the Council of the Federation’s International Affairs Committee, said that these are not sanctions, but restrictions, a priori illegal measures that are based neither on international law, nor on the UN charter. Klimov promised that the Russian side would not leave the European Union’s actions unchecked.