Russia leads in sanctions count, but more needed – Presidential Envoy

This was announced on television by the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Ukrinform reports.

“The Russian Federation is by far the most sanctioned country in the world [i.e., it has the most sanctions in the world]. At the same time, we see that the military industrial complex of the Russian Federation is still able to make money,” he said.

Answering the question of how important the timing of sanctions is, Vlasyuk said that it was probably possible to introduce more restrictions immediately after the start of the full-scale invasion or even before it began, for example, after Russia recognized the L/DPR. But, according to him, it is impossible to impose all sanctions at the same time for many reasons.

“Sanctions are really a way to suppress or strangle a country’s economy. We can already see that Russia has lost at least 150 billion due to sanctions. The Russian Federation has experienced significant problems in the economy as a result of sanctions. Unfortunately, this is not enough,” stated the Presidential Envoy.

He positively assessed the rhetoric of some European leaders about the need to strengthen sanctions: “Believe me, these are not just words. Just yesterday and the day before yesterday there were quite a few intensive communications… The 17th package [of EU sanctions] is clear, almost ready to go. Let’s start working on the 18th package. And we have recently communicated with our partners, handed over two pages of proposals from the international sanctions group on new areas where sanctions can be imposed.”

Vlasiuk explained that he meant new ideas to strengthen sanctions against Russian oil, the “shadow fleet,” preventing microelectronics and other critical components from entering Russia, and the financial sector.

“Believe me, there are many ideas, many recommendations. I am confident that these steps will move quickly,” the official added.

As reported, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Europe would impose stricter sanctions against Russia, particularly in the energy sector, if Putin rejects the proposal for a 30-day truce.