Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held an online meeting with the heads of diplomatic missions of foreign states in Ukraine, dedicated to the issue of continuing a balanced, coordinated, tough and effective sanctions policy against the Russian Federation.
He said that Ukraine has withstood the first, most acute phase of the Russian invasion. But to win, our state needs both the strengthening of the capabilities of the Armed Forces, first of all – weapons, and an extremely effective sanctions policy on the part of partners.
"We are not so naive as to expect that economic pressure on the aggressor country will lead to a speedy end to hostilities. However, this second front – the front of international sanctions – will significantly limit Russia's aggression. Usually, the best pacifier was economic hardship," the head of the President's Office said.
Yermak presented to the ambassadors the Action Plan on Strengthening Sanctions against the Russian Federation, developed by the Yermak-McFaul International Expert Group established by the Head of the President's Office and Ambassador Michael McFaul following the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to Yermak, the plan is aimed at depriving Russia of the finances, production capabilities and technologies used for the war, forcing Russia to focus on overcoming its internal problems and forcing Russian citizens to pay for supporting aggression.
"Coordinated, comprehensive and effective actions of a wide range are needed. We must force sanctions to work without failures and imitations against entire sectors of the Russian economy," he said.
First of all, it is a question of a full oil and gas embargo, the need to introduce a scheme that will deprive Russia of access to funds for oil and gas exports.
Yermak singled out comprehensive sanctions against financial institutions in Russia and Belarus, Russia's inclusion in the FATF blacklist and the list of terrorist sponsors among other points of the plan.
Restrictions should also affect export-import and insurance operations and include transport measures such as the complete closure of maritime services.
The head of the Office of the President also stressed the importance of increasing transparency and deepening coordination between the countries participating in the sanctions. Particular attention should be paid to the introduction of secondary sanctions mechanisms, which should be aimed at intermediaries who provide services in circumvention schemes.
"I think that weapons and sanctions policy are the most important tools from your states to support Ukraine and the whole free democratic world, which our country is defending today, to end this war," Andriy Yermak said.
For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on states that stand side by side with Ukraine to make it a rule that there are no taboos on sanctions until Russia is stopped.
The foreign minister also invited the partner countries to adopt the Yermak-McFaul Plan as a roadmap for what sanctions should be applied against Russia.
He also drew attention to the importance of encouraging the business of these countries to leave the Russian Federation as soon as possible.
"Ukraine and Ukrainians are now acting decisively and sacrificing themselves for the victory in this war. We thank you for standing by us, and we ask you to do everything possible to end this war as soon as possible," Kuleba said.