Sanctions pressure on Russia must be constantly increased - Ukraine’s finance minister

The minister spoke in an interview with Rada TV, Ukrinform reports.

"Unfortunately, they have a margin of safety and it is necessary to constantly strengthen the sanctions pressure. First of all, we need to keep an eye on the countries that allow Russia to bypass sanctions," said Marchenko.

He added that Ukraine had lost almost a third of its economy last year as a result of a full-scale invasion. At the same time, Russia, on the contrary, managed to obtain surplus profits on the world energy market.

According to the minister, in addition to introducing new sanctions, Ukrainian partners should also focus on the implementation of those already imposed.

"Decisions alone are not enough as it is necessary to monitor how they are implemented," head of the Ministry of Finance emphasized.

Marchenko noted that it was also critical to expand the list of sectors of the Russian economy in respect of which international sanctions should be applied.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the European Union intends to introduce a ban on the transit of many goods through the territory of Russia, trying to strengthen compliance with the previously introduced sanctions.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland believes that the next package of EU sanctions against Russia will be adopted no earlier than the second half of May 2023.