The EU on Monday imposed sanctions on eight officials accused of targeting opponents of Russia's seizure of Crimea, ahead of a visit to Kiev by the bloc's top officials.

- The persons added to the EU sanctions list include law enforcement officials - judges, prosecutors and security officers - responsible for enforcing Russian law in the illegally-annexed Crimea and Sevastopol - the EU said in a statement.

- Those individuals have taken biased decisions in politically-motivated cases, and prosecuted or oppressed opponents of the illegal annexation.-

The officials included the head of the FSB intelligence agency in Crimea as well as judges and investigators on the peninsula, and a military prosecutor in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

The latest additions mean the 27-nation bloc has imposed visa bans and asset freezes on 185 individuals and 48 entities over the Russian takeover of Crimea and Moscow-backed insurgency in east Ukraine since 2014.

Rights groups have accused the authorities of a sweeping crackdown on those opposed to Russian rule in Crimea -- including the Crimean Tatar community.

The announcement of the sanctions comes a day ahead of a meeting in Kiev involving European Council head Charles Michel and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Brussels is keen to show it remains a key backer in the face of the festering conflict in the east of the country and worries in Kiev that the EU is losing interest in Ukraine.