Vlasiuk: In the 18th package of sanctions, about 40% of the content is Ukraine's proposals

The 18th sanctions package of the European Union includes approximately 40% of Ukraine's proposals, but it does not contain everything Kyiv would like to see. Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, told this in an interview with LIGA.net.

According to him, the 18th package is definitely among the three best among all EU sanctions packages.

"It's a good package. It is very different from the first draft to the final one for the better. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy managed to convince the EU partners that the practice of soft suppression is too slow, we simply do not have that much time," Vlasiuk said.

He clarified that the sanctions now include such fundamental things as a price ceiling on Russian oil.

"In the 18th sanctions package, approximately 40% of the content is our proposals: of the Ukrainian side and the International Sanctions Group, which is jointly headed by the head of the Presidential Administration Andriy Yermak and Ambassador Michael McFaul," said the Commissioner.

The official emphasized that Ukraine and the EU have managed to establish bilateral synchronization – Kyiv synchronizes sanctions of its partners, and they synchronize Ukrainian ones.

Vlasyuk emphasized that the 18th package did not contain everything Ukraine expected. In particular, Kyiv wanted to add individuals-captains from the shadow fleet to the sanctions lists. However, only one was included – the captain of the Jaguar vessel, which Estonia tried to detain in May.

"We also wanted to see five to seven specific Russian banks on the sanctions list. Some were included, some were not. And this is a bit disappointing. I won't say which ones didn't make it, because we are now asking them to be added again," he said.

• On July 18, it was reported that the European Union, in the 18th package of sanctions, lowered the price threshold for Russian oil to $47.6 per barrel.
• On July 19, the EU published in the Official Journal the lists of individuals and legal entities included in the 18th package of sanctions against Russia.