Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said at a meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday that Ukraine plans to ask the EU to impose tariffs on the small number of Russian products it still imports, as per AFP.
Although the EU voted to include an end to all imports of Russian gas by 2027 in its latest sanctions package, the European gas market was worth over $17 billion to Russia in 2025, AFP reports. Europe also continues to import small amounts of metal and fertilizer.
Follow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.
“We will raise the issue of imposing tariffs on these types of products,” Sybiha said.
The EU requires the consent of all 27 of its member states to impose new sanctions on Russia, which has at times led to delays. Hungary and Slovakia in particular have for many years depended on Russian gas imports – their governments tend to align themselves with Russia.
In contrast, only a “qualified majority” of EU member states would be required to impose tariffs on Russian imports – meaning that only 15 of the 27 member states representing 65% of the total EU population would have to agree for the decision to pass.
The requirements for tariffs and sanctions differ because tariffs have historically been part of the EU’s commercial and economic policy, while sanctions fall under the more contentious area of common foreign and security policy.
Writing on X after the meeting, Zelensky said that he had identified the main directions of Ukraine’s sanctions efforts going forward. These include Ukraine’s own sanctions, its proposals for its partners’ sanctions, and long-range sanctions.
Other Topics of Interest
G7 Condemns ‘Systematic Energy Terror’ in Ukraine as Nuclear Safety Fears Grow
Western allies pledge support for Kyiv’s grid protection after Russia’s strikes on power lines threaten off-site cooling for nuclear facilities.
“The cumulative effect of sanctions has the greatest impact,” Zelensky added.
The US recently imposed long-awaited sanctions on Russia’s two largest gas firms. At Friday’s meeting, Zelensky praised the impact of these sanctions – which he said would cost Russia billions, as per RBC-Ukraine.
However, he emphasized the need for continued vigilance in the face of Russia’s efforts to evade the impact of these sanctions.
“It is very important for us that assets on the territory of the European Union do not function. There will be certain problems. Our task, our development, is to see this, identify it, and relay it to our partners,” he said.