Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and U.S. Department of State Sanctions Coordinator, Ambassador James O'Brien discussed in the format of a video conference the issue of strengthening sanctions against individuals and legal entities that continue to support Russia's aggression against Ukraine.
The meeting was also attended by: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States to Ukraine Bridget Brink, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova, First Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko.
Speaking of strengthening sanctions pressure on the aggressor, the Head of the Presidential Office emphasized the necessity of applying sanctions elaborated by the Yermak-McFaul International Working Group, particularly against Russian propagandists.
"We focus on the most important people who have propaganda influence in Russia. In particular, those who personally participated in the annexation of Ukrainian territory. People who openly support the war in Ukraine. And some of them even say how many Ukrainians should be killed, how many attacks should be carried out against civilians and civilian infrastructure," stated Andriy Yermak.
According to him, it is unacceptable that most of these people can freely visit democratic countries such as the United States, Great Britain, the European Union, have property in the territory of these states and at the same time voice anti-Ukrainian propaganda on Russian television. They not only openly support the war in Ukraine, but also criticize the support of our country by partner countries, in particular the United States.
"Today it is propaganda from public people that has the greatest impact on Russian society. And if these people travel freely around the world and are fine with supporting the war and killing of Ukrainians, it is a signal to all Russians that everything is fine. It should not be so," the Head of the Presidential Office emphasized.
Andriy Yermak proposed to hold a sanctions summit with the participation of representatives of the United States and other partners of Ukraine in the coming months to analyze the effectiveness of the sanctions already imposed and coordinate steps to strengthen the sanctions pressure.
Yulia Svyrydenko informed the participants of the event about the work carried out by the government in the context of sanctions policy. In particular, according to her, an additional list of propagandists has been elaborated, in addition to those 165 people who have recently been subjected to restrictive measures. It will be presented next week.
The First Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Interagency Working Group on Sanctions chaired by her plans to consider proposals not only on individual, but also sectoral restrictions in the areas of IT, energy and finance.
The parties also discussed the introduction of sanctions against Rosatom and persons involved in the violation of nuclear safety in the region, production and supply of drones and other weapons to Russia, etc.
Ambassador James O'Brien emphasized that the working group in the U.S. Department of State, which consists of about 30 members, is studying in detail all the materials submitted by the Ukrainian government and the Yermack-McFaul group. According to him, the work in a number of important areas is being completed, and new sanctions are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
Regarding the determination of priority areas in which restrictions will be implemented in the first place, James O'Brien noted that the benchmark will be the impact of these sanctions on Russia's capabilities on the battlefield and financially. It is also important whether the person committed crimes against Ukrainian citizens, in particular children, was involved in the annexation of the territories of Ukraine, or propagated it. In addition, he expressed support for the initiative to hold a sanctions summit.
Following the meeting, the parties agreed to continue close dialogue and coordination of the sanctions implementation process.