Ukraine to mirror U.S. sanctions on Russian tycoons

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko speaks during a meeting of the country's Security and Defence Council in Kiev, Ukraine May 2, 2018. Mykola Lazarenko/Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine has decided to expand sanctions on Russian companies and entities to mirror those of the United States, which has blacklisted tycoons and allies of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday.

Kiev has also extended existing sanctions it introduced against hundreds of Russian companies and entities in response to the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and Kremlin support for a pro-Russian separatist uprising in eastern Ukraine.