UKRAINE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Denys Shkarovsky, Volodymyr Vashchenko and Denys Bugay, VB Partners
VB Partners Porch 13, BC Bashta 5 Rybalska Street, 22 Kyiv, 01011 Ukraine Tel: +38 044 581 1633
Email: office@vbpartners.ua Web: www.vbpartners.ua/en/
Introduction In Ukraine, the institution of sanctions was formally established in August 2014 through the adoption of the Law of Ukraine “On Sanctions”, which came into force the following month. This legislative step was taken as a direct response to the Russian Federation’s illegal annexation of Crimea and the outbreak of armed conflict in the eastern regions of Ukraine. Since then, the use of sanctions has evolved into an element of Ukraine’s national security and foreign policy strategy. The full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation in February 2022 marked a turning point, prompting the Ukrainian state to significantly intensify and broaden its sanctions policy. In addition to expanding the scope of sanctions, new mechanisms were introduced, including the confis - cation of assets that belong to or are controlled by individuals and entities that support or facilitate Rus - sian aggression – formally termed “confiscation of the assets of the Russian Federation’s accomplices into the state income”. Over the past year, sanctions have continued to serve as an effective instrument in countering the aggres - sor state, as well as in reinforcing Ukraine’s efforts to isolate and deter those who enable or profit from the war. In this context, several key trends and develop - ments have emerged, including: • the criminalisation of sanctions violations and attempts to circumvent them, with proposed legal
amendments introducing criminal liability and long- term imprisonment for such actions; and • the proactive prevention of co-operation with individuals, companies and institutions that in any way contribute to or support the Russian war effort against Ukraine. Criminalisation of Sanctions Violation and Circumvention Since 2020, Ukraine has taken several steps to crimi - nalise sanctions violations and circumvention, but none of them has been successful. In April 2024, the Council of the European Union approved the Directive (EU) 2024/1226 of the Euro - pean Parliament and of the Council of 24 April 2024 “On the Definition of Criminal Offences and Penalties for the Violation of Union Restrictive Measures”, the purpose of which is to strengthen control by member states over the effectiveness of the European Union’s sanctions. The above Directive provides for the minimum rules for defining the crimes related to violation of sanctions and implementation of punishment for them. All member states are required to implement the Directive into their national legislation within one year. Ukraine is one of the leading countries in terms of the number of sanctions imposed – more than 18,000 sanctioned individuals and legal entities. Moreover, as a country defending itself against an aggressor state, Ukraine actively encourages its international partners to impose sanctions and ensure accountability for their violation. It therefore cannot
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