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OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that Russia would face severe sanctions if it makes further moves against Ukraine. 

Joly was speaking from Brussels after meeting her counterpart in the European Union, and after travelling to Ukraine and France earlier this week as Russia masses 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border, stoking fears of war with Europe. 

sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ has already imposed a lengthy series of sanctions related to Russia dating back to 2014 when its military forcibly annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

The sanctions were levelled under the Special Economic Measures Act and have targeted more than 440 individuals and entities and have aligned with similar measures taken by allies such as the European Union and Britain, says Global Affairs sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½. 

The sanctions freeze the assets and prohibit the conduct of financial transactions with any entity on the list. They also impose a ban on travel to sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ to any individual on the list.

Global Affairs sa¹ú¼Ê´«Ã½ says the sanctions are a response to "to the gravity of Russia's violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and grave human rights violations that have been committed in Russia." 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2022.

The Canadian Press