Sibiga announced new sanctions against Russian oligarchs Friedman and Usmanov
Ukraine is preparing new sanctions against Russian oligarchs following the EU’s decision to remove Mikhail Friedman and Alisher Usmanov from its list. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga stated that Kyiv has already compiled a list of more than 20 Russian businessmen.
According to him, Ukraine will also seek to ensure that restrictions against Friedman and Usmanov remain in place in other countries. Sibiga noted that the relevant decisions are already in the process of being finalized.
Ukraine is preparing a new wave of sanctions against Russian oligarchs following the European Union’s decision to remove Mikhail Friedman and Alisher Usmanov from its sanctions list. Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga announced this during a closed-door meeting with journalists. According to him, the Ukrainian side tried until the very last moment to prevent the lifting of restrictions on the two Russian businessmen. “Work is underway—this is important—and I’ll mention this while I’m on the subject, to wrap it up, because it’s related: sanctions. The outrageous story of the removal of two Russian oligarchs. We fought until the very last moment, both publicly and privately, to prevent this from happening,” Sibiga stated.
According to the minister, following the EU’s decision, Ukraine decided to expand its own sanctions list. A list of new candidates has already been prepared. Sibiga mentions more than 20 Russian oligarchs. “Our response will, once again, be asymmetrical. You removed two oligarchs, and we will add twenty more. We have prepared a list of more than twenty Russian oligarchs. And we will also be adding these two back on the list. That is our approach now. And we are currently in the process of formalizing this. Twenty—the President has already approved this—plus we’re working at the national level to ensure that Usmanov and Friedman are sanctioned in national jurisdictions. Canada has confirmed to us that it will not remove them from the list. We have the UK, Japan, and Australia. And we’ll be following up on these two individuals in all other jurisdictions,” said the Foreign Minister.
At the same time, Sibiga did not name all the Russian businessmen whom Ukraine plans to add to its list. Therefore, only the number of candidates is known at this time, not the full list.
What Happened to Friedman and Usmanov
On September 22, EU countries agreed to extend personal sanctions against approximately 3,000 Russian and Russia-linked individuals and entities for another 36 months. At the same time, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Friedman were removed from the sanctions list. The decision was the result of lengthy negotiations among EU member states. According to European media reports, France advocated for Usmanov’s removal, while Luxembourg insisted on a similar decision regarding Friedman. Ultimately, the EU agreed to a compromise that allowed for the extension of the broader sanctions regime for three years.
Ukraine opposed this decision. Even before the final vote, Sibiga stated that the reasons for which Friedman and Usmanov were added to the sanctions list had not gone away. “What has changed? Nothing. Removing them from the list is unacceptable and would send the wrong signal to Moscow at a time when pressure needs to be increased. On the contrary, sanctions must be strengthened, the lists of individuals expanded, and their duration extended from six to twelve months—to reduce the number of counterproductive ideas aimed at serving the interests of Russian oligarchs,” Sibiga wrote.
Following the EU’s final decision, the minister also called on European countries to impose their own national sanctions against the two businessmen. According to him, this would allow the restrictions to remain in place even after Friedman and Usmanov are removed from the general EU list.
Where sanctions against the oligarchs may remain in place
According to Sibiga, Canada has already confirmed to Ukraine that it does not plan to remove Friedman and Usmanov from its sanctions list. The minister also named the United Kingdom, Japan, and Australia among the countries where Kyiv is working to maintain or impose restrictions. Ukraine plans to approach other countries as well. The goal is to ensure that, following the EU’s decision, restrictions against the two businessmen remain in effect at the national level.
Separately, Kyiv wants to expand sanctions pressure on other representatives of Russian big business. Sibiga stated that the list has already been compiled, and the process of formalizing it is currently underway. On October 1, Vladislav Vlasyuk, the President’s Representative on Sanctions Policy, also spoke about a similar approach. He reported that Ukraine has already provided its partners with a list of ten Russian businessmen whom it proposes adding to the sanctions lists. According to him, this specifically includes individuals linked to the Russian military-industrial complex.
Thus, the EU’s decision regarding Friedman and Usmanov does not mean that sanctions against them will be automatically lifted in all countries. Ukraine states that it will work to impose specific restrictions in other jurisdictions and, at the same time, is preparing a new list of Russian oligarchs for sanctions.
