Chill in the east as Russia gears up Ukraine sanctions

Russia is to freeze the Russian assets of hundreds of members of Ukraine’s ‘elites’ (e.g., figures in industry and politics). According to news agencies, amongst the 322 individuals and 68 businesses targeted are Olexiy Poroshenko, son of Ukraine’s president, PetroPoroshenko; head of the security services, Vasil Hrytsak; and Victor Pinchuk, founder of steel producer, Interpipe, and several media channels. Companies targeted include sunflower oil refiner Kernel, and poultry company MHP.

Russia’s prime minister, Dmitri Medvedev said that he is still developing the proposals outlined in an executive order. Asked by media about the implications of the sanctions he said:

‘We are speaking, first, about freezing their assets in Russia, that is, they will not be able to use them in any way. Second, there will be a ban on wiring funds that are located in Russia, that is, the ban on capital exports. And finally, imports of certain Ukrainian-made goods into Russia will be banned.’

He added that while it wasn’t commonly mentioned, ‘Ukraine’s trade with Russia is fairly significant. We are talking about billions of roubles, which is quite a lot for Ukraine. In other words, despite all the difficulties in recent times and all the bans and restrictions that they have already imposed on our country, the share of the Russian market for Ukrainian exports and the Ukrainian capital remains quite significant.

‘In other words,’ he said, ‘we remain Ukraine’s largest foreign trade partner.’