Ukraine is proposing that EU impose sanctions on Russian billionaires Lisin and Potanin instead of Usmanov and Friedman, - Politico
Following the removal of Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Friedman from the EU sanctions list, Ukraine is proposing to impose restrictions on two other Russian billionaires—Vladimir Lisin and Vladimir Potanin. Their companies have a significant presence in the European market.
According to Censor.NET, citing Politico, this was stated by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Ukrainian president’s representative on sanctions policy.
According to Vlasyuk, the individuals in question are NLMK owner Lisin and "Nornickel" CEO Potanin. The Ukrainian side believes that including these businessmen in the next round of individual sanctions will effectively cut off their companies from trade with the European Union.
"Everyone knows about these people, but they avoid taking any action against them. But now, it seems, there are ways to exert influence to move this issue forward," Vlasiuk said.
Until now, the scale of their businesses and the economic interests of certain European countries have prevented the imposition of sanctions against Lisin and Potanin.
NLMK operates steel processing plants in Wallonia, Belgium, which is why Belgium opposed adding Lisin to the sanctions list. The company also has production facilities in France, Italy, and Denmark.
In Potanin’s case, one of the factors is the dependence of European industry—particularly the automotive industry—on Russian nickel and palladium.
Vlasiuk also linked the issue of sanctions against Lisin and Potanin to the debate surrounding the Irish company Aughinish Alumina, which exports its products to Russia.
"It's always the same story. There might be 20 countries for which sanctions are the obvious solution, and one that opposes them. These alumina exports really should be banned. It's obvious to us, and we have plenty of ideas about what to do next," he said.
- As previously reported by Censor.NET, on September 22, the Council of the European Union extended restrictive measures for 36 months against individuals responsible for undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine. At the same time, Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Friedman were removed from the list. In Ukraine, this decision was called unjustified, and officials announced their intention to propose new sanctions measures to the European Union.
