THE US imposed further sanctions on Russia on Thursday over its reunification with Crimea and Ukraine’s civil war.

A total of 15 companies and 11 individuals were added to Washington’s sanctions list, along with five Crimean ports.

The US embassy in Moscow claimed that the new sanctions were not punishment for Russia’s veto of a UN security council resolution calling for a tribunal to prosecute those suspected of shooting down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine last year.

Embassy spokesman Will Stevens said they were “not an escalation. Rather, they are a routine step to strengthen existing measures.”

It was revealed yesterday that US troops travelling on a commercial flight to Ukraine for exercises last month had been stopped at Vienna airport for carrying assault rifles and pistols in their luggage.

The day before, a Russian official said that a deal to buy two warships from France was off and Paris would have to pay compensation to Moscow.