Ukrainian president approves sanctions against 178 Russian citizens

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday approved a proposal by the country’s National Security and Defense Council to sanction 178 Russian citizens, including 81 people who also have Ukrainian citizenship.

The decree, which was released by the website of the Ukrainian presidency, said that the decision was taken to support proposals made by the country’s Security Service regarding the “application and introduction of changes to personal special economic and other restrictive measures.”

The restrictions implemented by the decree are set for a period of five years and include measures such as the blocking of assets and restrictions on trade operations and transit through Ukrainian territory.

“The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, together with the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Bank of Ukraine, shall ensure the implementation and monitoring of the effectiveness of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions),” the decree said.

It also instructed the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to inform “the competent authorities of the EU, US and other states about the application of sanctions and to raise with them the issue of introducing similar restrictive measures.”

Last month, Zelenskyy imposed sanctions against 51 individuals and 220 companies, affiliated with the transport, communication and industrial sectors of Russia and Belarus.