The EU has already imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 61 people and two companies for participating in the armed rebellion against the Ukrainian government or Russia's occupation and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula, which both the EU and the US have condemned as illegal and refused to recognise.
The source, who spoke yesterday on condition of anonymity because she was not authorised to make public statements on the matter, said the decision would be implemented through formal written procedure by the end of this week. She did not disclose the names of any of the people targeted.
EU leaders at a June 27 summit in Brussels threatened more sanctions if the Russian government and pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine did not swiftly take a number of actions, including the launch of "substantial negotiations" on a peace plan proposed by Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko.