Sanctions pressure on Russia unprecedented, but not enough – Yermak

KYIV. March 18 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Sanctions pressure on Russia is unprecedented, but still not enough, Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has said.

“If Russia is capable of continuing the aggressive war against Ukraine, this means that the sanctions pressure today, although unprecedented, is still insufficient,” he said at a meeting with students of the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv on Friday in Kyiv.

At the same time, according to him, the international Yermak-McFaul group is constantly working to make the level of economic restrictions on the aggressor more effective.

Yermak said that each new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation is difficult to adopt because, for example, several EU countries hesitate to introduce sanctions against the Russian nuclear sector, as they depend on the Russian Federation in this field. Sanctions against the structures of the IT industry – companies that contribute to the implementation of the Russian missile program or the production of drones, as well as against propagandists of the Russian Federation – are also important.

Yermak also highly appreciated his dialogue with U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. “From the first meeting, we’ve managed to build a very constructive dialogue. He is an extremely clear, intelligent, and thoughtful person. We communicate very openly, we say what we may like and what we may not like. I highly value our communication,” he said.