The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) welcomes the European Council’s decision during a Summit of the European Union (EU) on 29 June 2018 in Brussels, Belgium, to extend economic sanctions against the Russian Federation for an additional six months until 31 January 2019 in response to the lack of progress in the implementation of the Minsk agreements.
The prolonged sanctions will continue the EU’s curbs on doing business in the financial, energy and defense sectors, and the area of dual-use goods in the Russian Federation.
Economic sanctions targeting those sectors were originally imposed against the Russian Federation on 31 July 2014 in response to its actions violating the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. The sanctions have since been renewed every six months.
In the Summit statement, EU leaders also call on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility for the downing of the civilian aircraft MH17 over eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, killing all 298 people on board, and “to fully cooperate with all efforts to establish truth, justice, and accountability”.
“The Ukrainian World Congress thanks the European Union for maintaining sanctions pressure against the Russian Federation and thus demonstrating that violations of fundamental values, such as the territorial integrity of independent states, will not be tolerated,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
