Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak held an online meeting with members of the International Working Group on Sanctions Against Russia, which he co-chairs together with Michael McFaul, Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.
The meeting was also attended by Advisor – Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk, as well as Advisors to the Head of the President’s Office Dariia Zarivna and Serhiy Leshchenko.
Andriy Yermak noted that since its establishment, the group has prepared 18 working papers and three comprehensive action plans.
"Each of these documents was shared with key partners and played an important role in shaping sanctions policy. Thanks to your efforts, an unprecedented package of sanctions has been developed against one of the largest violators of the global order in modern history," he emphasized.
The Head of the Presidential Office highlighted that the International Sanctions Group has been actively promoting an energy embargo against Russia, initiating the expansion and harmonization of export control lists, and proposing sanctions against Russian enterprises, banks, officials, and propagandists.
The group's recommendations have also led to action against Russia’s shadow fleet, restricted access to critical components and CNC (computer numerical control) machines, imposed sanctions on the management of Rosatom, and disconnected additional Russian banks from SWIFT.
Andriy Yermak stressed that it is critically important to prevent any rollback of sanctions before a just end to the war is achieved. Therefore, the International Sanctions Group must continue its work to monitor and counter any risks of weakening sanctions pressure on Russia.
Michael McFaul noted that the International Sanctions Group will continue its efforts to increase pressure on Russia. In particular, the group will focus on issues related to frozen assets of the Russian Central Bank, new energy sanctions, and restricting the flow of technological components into Russia from around the world – especially from China.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk noted that the sanctions imposed on Russia have already led to a loss of $96 billion in oil export revenues since December 2022, significantly impacted Russia’s mining, metallurgy, automotive, and aviation industries, as well as increased the cost of components for Russia’s military production.