Poroshenko sues NSDC Secretary Lytvynenko for amending sanction decree against him – lawyer
MP, leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko filed a lawsuit against Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksandr Lytvynenko for illegally amending President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's decree of February 12 on sanctions against the politician by correcting an error in his identification code, without a vote by the NSDC and a new decree, said lawyer Stanyslav Kuniansky.
"The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, without any vote or proper execution, unilaterally made a decision, on the basis of which the relevant decision of the National Security and Defense Council was published in a version different from the one in which it was actually approved. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council did not have the authority to perform such actions. At the same time, according to the current practice of the Supreme Court, indicating incorrect data of an individual entails the nullity of sanctions. That is, the sanctions against Poroshenko in the form in which they were actually approved did not create any legal consequences," Kunyansky told the Glavkom publication on Saturday.
He also reported that the decree on sanctions against Poroshenko was officially published on February 14, but information about this on the website of the State Register of Sanctions, which is administered by the National Security and Defense Council, appeared a day before that, on February 13. "That is, the sanctions came into force even before the official publication of the decree, which is also a significant violation, as well as a clear demonstration of the haste and legal clumsiness with which these sanctions were prepared and approved," Poroshenko's lawyer believes.
As reported, on February 13, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on the NSDC decision On the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions), of February 12, 2025. According to the annex to the document, sanctions were imposed against five individuals: Poroshenko, Kolomoisky, former owner of the bank "Finance and Credit" Kostiantyn Zhevaho, former co-owner of PrivatBank Hennadiy Boholiubov, and former MP Viktor Medvedchuk.
Poroshenko appealed the sanctions to the Supreme Court of Ukraine. On April 17, the court started considering the claim in the presence of Ukrainian MPs, as well as diplomats from the European Union mission, representatives of the embassies of Germany, Poland, Austria, Sweden, Lithuania and Denmark. Poroshenko's representatives said the sanctions were imposed illegally, as they were imposed on a Ukrainian citizen who is in Ukraine, despite the fact that only Russia considers him a "terrorist." Therefore, there are no grounds under the law for sanctions.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that the Cabinet of Ministers voted for the decision to impose sanctions on Poroshenko once and did not re-vote or make amendments to the documents.
