Kyiv Proposes Adding Other Russian Oligarchs to EU Sanctions List in Place of Usmanov and Fridman
Ukraine's presidential commissioner for sanctions policy, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, says the EU could restore trust by imposing restrictions on two other Russian billionaires after removing Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list.
The European Union recently lifted sanctions against two Russian-born oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman. The decision has prompted a response from Kyiv, where Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president's commissioner for sanctions policy, argued that the EU could rebuild trust by placing restrictions on two different Russian billionaires instead.
Vlasiuk made the comments in an interview with the outlet Politico. He did not name specific individuals who might be added to a renewed sanctions list, but suggested that such a step would help the bloc's sanctions policy maintain credibility following the decision to drop Usmanov and Fridman from the list of restricted persons.
Usmanov and Fridman are among the most prominent Russian-born businessmen whose names have repeatedly come up in discussions of Western sanctions policy toward figures close to Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The EU's sanctions lists have been revised several times in recent years, with some individuals removed following court cases or appeals.
Ukraine has long urged the European Union and other Western partners to maintain and strengthen pressure on businesspeople close to the Russian elite, viewing sanctions as one of the tools limiting the Kremlin's ability to finance its war effort. Vlasiuk's proposal indicates that Kyiv continues to actively engage with the shaping of EU sanctions policy, seeking to influence which individuals remain on, or are added to, the restriction lists.
It is not yet known whether EU institutions will respond to Ukraine's proposal or whether a process to add new names will be initiated.
