Briefing for foreign diplomats on sanctions policy against Russia held at President's Office

Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Ihor Zhovkva and Presidential Advisor and Plenipotentiary for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk held a briefing on sanctions against Russia for heads and other representatives of embassies in Ukraine.

The meeting was attended by diplomats from Great Britain, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, France, Sweden, Japan and the European Union.

Zhovkva spoke about the consequences of Russian strikes on Ukrainian cities and villages, in particular the shelling of Sumy, which claimed the lives of 35 people. He thanked for supporting Ukraine and the entire Ukrainian people and maintaining pressure on Russia for the war it unleashed.

"We need help with specific things in the form of air defense systems to protect against ballistic missiles and sanctions pressure. As long as Russian aggression continues, there should be no easing of sanctions," he said.

Vlasiuk informed about the foreign components found in Russian weapons and the impact of the imposed sanctions on Russia's capabilities, in particular, the effectiveness of restrictions against the gas and metallurgical sectors, cryptocurrency transactions. He said sanctions are also in force against the shadow tanker fleet of Russia, as evidenced by reports of the detention of vessels. Work in this direction will continue.

"The seventeenth package of sanctions is necessary to put Russia in a more difficult position and to have more leverage in the negotiations. Containing the potential of the Russian military industry through sanctions should be part of the plan to strengthen European security," he said.

Vlasiuk also thanked non-governmental organizations for their assistance in this matter. They assess the impact of restrictions on the Russian budget and military production capacity, analyze components found in Russian weapons, UAVs and aircraft, investigate supply chains and access to foreign technologies for the Russian defense industry, and identify loopholes through which the Russian Federation manages to circumvent sanctions.

In addition, the briefing discussed the confiscation and use of frozen Russian assets for the benefit of Ukraine.