Ukrainian FM threatens sanctions on major oil-importing countries from Russia

During the Fair Play conference focused on strengthening sanctions against Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said that Kyiv is closely monitoring the growing trade turnover between Russia and several countries, particularly in Central Asia, noting an increase in certain categories of goods.

He clarified that some of the items being tracked are dual-use products that Russia employs in the production of military equipment.

Ukraine intends to respond to these developments and call on its partners, especially the few countries that are the top consumers of Russian oil, to take action as well. Given the use of a shadow fleet to bypass restrictions, Sybiha said that Ukraine will soon initiate targeted sanctions against major buyers of Russian oil.

The foreign minister pointed out that Russian oil, gas, and related products, which account for up to 50% of the country’s budget revenues, are still making their way into European markets.

According to Sybiha, in April alone, Russia earned around $13 billion from energy exports, while a single day of war costs the country about $1 billion. This means that Russia continues to earn significantly more than it spends on its war against Ukraine.

He added that the increasing number of missile and drone attacks demonstrates that Moscow still has access to critical components, raw materials, equipment, and software.

An analysis of the debris from Russian missiles and drones continues to reveal foreign-made parts, with components originating from at least 19 countries.

Sybiha also called for cutting Russia off from critical components for its defense industry, emphasizing that this is an essential element of forcing Moscow toward peace.

He stressed the importance of mobilizing the full sanctioning capacity of Ukraine’s allies to halt the ongoing militarization of Russia’s economy.

Sanctions against Russia

Roughly a week ago, Sybiha said that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had tasked Ukrainian diplomacy with carrying out a month-long campaign of pressure against Russia, focusing on economic measures and limiting Russia’s weapons production capacity.

He described this as a crucial period of full diplomatic mobilization aimed at advancing a just and lasting peace for Ukraine.

In recent days, Sybiha also met with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. The two discussed the European Union’s next steps to tighten sanctions on Russia, and Sybiha reiterated Ukraine’s expectation that the measures would target the military budget of Russian President Vladimir Putin.