ALEXEI KARYAKIN

Alexei Karyakin is speaker of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic Council of Ministers. Karyakin signed a memorandum uniting the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics on May 24, 2014.  On June 20, 2014 Karyakin addressed a letter to Belarusian President Lukashenka and the national assembly of Belarus requesting that Belarus recognize the independence of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic.  On June 25, 2014 he declared the separatist regions’ intent to seek accession to the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. Karyakin is being designated because he is responsible for actions that threaten the territorial integrity of Ukraine and has asserted governmental authority over a region of Ukraine.