Ukraine prepares sanctions against more than 20 Russian oligarchs after EU decision

Ukraine has prepared a new sanctions list that will include more than 20 representatives of major Russian business. This will be Kyiv's response to the European Union's decision to remove Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions lists.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha announced this during a meeting with journalists. According to him, the list of new candidates for sanctions has already been prepared and approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky, and the formalization of the decision is ongoing.

Sybiha called Ukraine's future response asymmetric: after the removal of the two Russian billionaires, Kyiv intends to add more than two dozen other individuals to the sanctions lists. The minister did not yet name specific individuals from the new list.

Ukraine will also continue to seek the restoration of restrictions against Usmanov and Fridman themselves. According to Sybiha, Kyiv is working not only at the EU level but also with individual states to ensure that both businessmen remain under national sanctions. The minister stated that Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia do not plan to remove them from their lists.

The European Union removed Usmanov and Fridman from the sanctions list on September 22. On that day, the EU Council simultaneously extended for three years – until September 22, 2029 – the personal restrictions imposed due to actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. More than 3,000 individuals and legal entities remain under these restrictions.

The official EU document confirms that Usmanov, Fridman, Andrei Falaleev, and the company Redbird Corporate Services Ltd were then removed from the list. Separately, records concerning three deceased persons were removed. For those who remain under sanctions, asset freezes, a ban on providing funds and economic resources, and travel restrictions for individuals apply.

The decision regarding Usmanov and Fridman was the result of lengthy negotiations among EU countries. Prior to its adoption, France and Slovakia sought Usmanov's removal, and the Fridman issue was also part of negotiations on extending the sanctions regime. Ultimately, restrictions for the main list were extended for 36 months at once, instead of the previous practice of regular semi-annual review.

Even before the EU's final decision, Ukraine opposed this step. Sybiha stated that the reasons for which Usmanov and Fridman were placed under restrictions had not disappeared, and their removal from the list would send the wrong signal to Moscow.

After the EU decision, Kyiv has already begun promoting alternative candidates for European sanctions. As wrote Kurs, the President's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, proposed that the European Union impose restrictions against Russian billionaires Vladimir Lisin and Vladimir Potanin.

Lisin is linked to the metallurgical group NLMK, and Potanin is linked to the mining and metals company Norilsk Nickel. According to Vlasiuk, Kyiv considers their businesses important for the Russian economy and insists on expanding European personal sanctions.

Based on materials from: RBC-Ukraine (Milan Lelich, Elena Pchela), Official Journal of the EU, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine