Ukrainian government pushes for strengthened sanctions against Russia: KYIV NOT KIEV’s exclusive with Vladyslav Vlasiuk

03/ 08/ 2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbJAX0u_tlo In an in-depth interview with KYIV NOT KIEV, Ukrainian Presidential Offices Sanctions Adviser and Secretary of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, articulates key challenges and priorities in sanctions implementation. Mr.Vlasiuk emphasized the primacy of three key areas in the sanctions process: decreasing the capacity of Russia on the battlefield, denying Russia from getting more money, and weakening Putins propaganda-backed regime. These priorities reflect the multidimensional approach to sanctions, designed to cut-off financial and material resources fueling Russian aggression against Ukraine. The key to sanctions policy development lies in close cooperation with international partners. Being one of the few people involved in communication with foreign partners regarding sanctions - including President Volodymyr Zelensky, head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak, FM Dmytro Kuleba, and key ministers - Vlasiuk notes, My personal objective is to cause more and more pain to Russia in terms of sanctions, as much as possible. The coordination among the sanction coalition, which currently consists of approximately 40 countries, is described as unprecedented by Vlasiuk. However, he acknowledges some countries hesitance due to various economic interests and historical ties with Russia. A clear example is the difference in approach by the UK and the EU towards designating oligarchs, For the United Kingdom, it is a little bit more difficult than for the European Union...there have been a lot of oligarchs from Russia in London, including their opposition, which kind of made them a part of the establishment. If you check on, lets say, Mr. Lisin, who is sanctioned by almost any jurisdiction but not in the UK, this will give you some thoughts. The sanctions expert also highlighted the need for unity in the EUs stance on sanctions against Russia, calling out countries like Hungary, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus for their hesitant attitude. What we like is the unity that the EU shows about its support for Ukraine; what we dont like is that sometimes some EU member states display a different degree of that support, he said. When discussing the idea of a unified international body for sanction monitoring, Vlasiuk emphasized that the implementation of sanctions is within the responsibility of individual member states, leading to varied approaches. Despite individual economic interests, he urged for understanding, Sanctions are more than just about the money. In response to the question by KYIV NOT KIEV’s host Tetiana Gaiduk about what Ukraine needs to do to better sanction Russia and gain reciprocal support from its allies in this regard, Vlasiuk answered, Weve sanctioned, I guess, almost 9,000 individuals and entities from Russia here in Ukraine. This would be a display of trust and support if the partners synchronized all of the sanctions...We would always synchronize the sanctions implemented by other countries against Russia at our level. At the same time, weve been pushing quite hard on the partners to implement new ideas and sanctions. Mr. Vlasiuk also calls for decisive action regarding Western-made components found in Russian weapons systems, specifically microchips. Experts from the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions (that he is a part of), in a joint study with Kyiv School of Economics, identified 1,057 foreign components in Russian weapons found in Ukraine, from tanks to missiles and drones. Among them are the ones produced by the German Infineon Technologies, Korean Samsung, Swiss STMicroelectronics, American Intel, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Microchip Technology, and AMD. Among the desired actions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk names export control, introducing end-user certificates, more aggressive outreach to third countries re-exporting those parts to Russia, and comprehensive trade bans against Russia, which would ban any items of certain codes completely, including microelectronics. Russian oligarchs mourn the lifestyle lost due to sanctions and are attempting to obtain sanctions relief through the European Court. To this, Vlasiuk responds: Russia itself and the Russian oligarchs will always leverage all the values of the Western world. If it is a value of justice—the ability to protect yourself in court—they would always make the best use of it. He also touched on the need for tougher sanctions against oligarchs and propagandists, underlining that sanctions are not punishment, but rather a means to induce change. Sanctions were made against you for the actions you took. So, Mr. Fridman (heavily sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman – ed.), if youve been working for Putin, if youve been supporting Putin’s regime and the aggression against Ukraine, this is what destroyed your life, not the sanctions, Vlasiuk stated, exemplifying the notion. Addressing the interagency group Task Force UAs role, Vlasiuk revealed its objective to trace, freeze, and seize the assets of certain Russian individuals abroad. More detailed information about the activities of Task Force UA can be found in the second part of the interview on the KYIV NOT KIEV channel. KYIV NOT KIEV, an English-language news blog about Ukraine that was created by the TRUMAN team in 2020. The project has gained widespread recognition for its in-depth interviews with foreign ambassadors to Ukraine.

In an in-depth interview with KYIV NOT KIEV, Ukrainian Presidential Office’s Sanctions Adviser and Secretary of the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk, articulates key challenges and priorities in sanctions implementation.

Mr.Vlasiuk emphasized the primacy of three key areas in the sanctions process: “decreasing the capacity of Russia on the battlefield, denying Russia from getting more money, and weakening Putin’s propaganda-backed regime”. These priorities reflect the multidimensional approach to sanctions, designed to cut-off financial and material resources fueling Russian aggression against Ukraine.

The key to sanctions policy development lies in close cooperation with international partners. Being one of the few people involved in communication with foreign partners regarding sanctions – including President Volodymyr Zelensky, head of the Presidential Office Andrii Yermak, FM Dmytro Kuleba, and key ministers – Vlasiuk notes, “My personal objective is to cause more and more pain to Russia in terms of sanctions, as much as possible.”

The coordination among the sanction coalition, which currently consists of approximately 40 countries, is described as “unprecedented” by Vlasiuk. However, he acknowledges some countries’ hesitance due to various economic interests and historical ties with Russia. A clear example is the difference in approach by the UK and the EU towards designating oligarchs, “For the United Kingdom, it is a little bit more difficult than for the European Union…there have been a lot of oligarchs from Russia in London, including their opposition, which kind of made them a part of the establishment. If you check on, let’s say, Mr. Lisin, who is sanctioned by almost any jurisdiction but not in the UK, this will give you some thoughts”.

The sanctions expert also highlighted the need for unity in the EU’s stance on sanctions against Russia, calling out countries like Hungary, Greece, Malta, and Cyprus for their hesitant attitude. “What we like is the unity that the EU shows about its support for Ukraine; what we don’t like is that sometimes some EU member states display a different degree of that support,” he said.

When discussing the idea of a unified international body for sanction monitoring, Vlasiuk emphasized that the implementation of sanctions is within the responsibility of individual member states, leading to varied approaches. Despite individual economic interests, he urged for understanding, “Sanctions are more than just about the money.”

In response to the question by KYIV NOT KIEV’s host Tetiana Gaiduk about what Ukraine needs to do to better sanction Russia and gain reciprocal support from its allies in this regard, Vlasiuk answered, “We’ve sanctioned, I guess, almost 9,000 individuals and entities from Russia here in Ukraine. This would be a display of trust and support if the partners synchronized all of the sanctions…We would always synchronize the sanctions implemented by other countries against Russia at our level. At the same time, we’ve been pushing quite hard on the partners to implement new ideas and sanctions.”

Mr. Vlasiuk also calls for decisive action regarding Western-made components found in Russian weapons systems, specifically microchips. Experts from the International Working Group on Russian Sanctions (that he is a part of), in a joint study with Kyiv School of Economics, identified 1,057 foreign components in Russian weapons found in Ukraine, from tanks to missiles and drones. Among them are the ones produced by the German Infineon Technologies, Korean Samsung, Swiss STMicroelectronics, American Intel, Texas Instruments, Analog Devices, Microchip Technology, and AMD. Among the desired actions, Vladyslav Vlasiuk names export control, introducing end-user certificates, more aggressive outreach to third countries re-exporting those parts to Russia, and comprehensive trade bans against Russia, which would ban any items of certain codes completely, including microelectronics.

Russian oligarchs mourn the lifestyle lost due to sanctions and are attempting to obtain sanctions relief through the European Court. To this, Vlasiuk responds: “Russia itself and the Russian oligarchs will always leverage all the values of the Western world. If it is a value of justice—the ability to protect yourself in court—they would always make the best use of it.”

He also touched on the need for tougher sanctions against oligarchs and propagandists, underlining that sanctions are not punishment, but rather a means to induce change. “Sanctions were made against you for the actions you took. So, Mr. Fridman (heavily sanctioned Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman – ed.), if you’ve been working for Putin, if you’ve been supporting Putin’s regime and the aggression against Ukraine, this is what destroyed your life, not the sanctions,” Vlasiuk stated, exemplifying the notion.

Addressing the interagency group Task Force UA‘s role, Vlasiuk revealed its objective to trace, freeze, and seize the assets of certain Russian individuals abroad. More detailed information about the activities of Task Force UA can be found in the second part of the interview on the KYIV NOT KIEV channel.

KYIV NOT KIEV, an English-language news blog about Ukraine that was created by the TRUMAN team in 2020. The project has gained widespread recognition for its in-depth interviews with foreign ambassadors to Ukraine.