24 June 2024

Russia must experience full extent of sanctions and economic restrictions to prevent inflow of funds into its war budget

Today, international efforts should be aimed at ensuring that the economy of the aggressor country collapses, as this is integral to achieving victory.

This conclusion was reached by the experts of the panel discussion entitled “Rebooting the Global Sanctions Policy Against russia, Taking into Account the Positive and Negative Experiences of the Two Years of the Big War” at the 3rd International Forum of the International Crimea Platform Expert Network. 

According to Andrii Klymenko, Editor-in-Chief, Head of BlackSeaNews.net Monitoring Mission, sanctions against russia have divided the world economy into three parts – countries that support them, do not support them, and those that will never support sanctions. Therefore, he suggested an algorithm that could change the sanctions policy.

“The main purpose of the sanctions must change – russia needs to be economically isolated from the world, even if it affects the global economy. It is necessary to prohibit the tanker fleet of Western countries from transporting russian oil products. The U.S. and EU list must include all tankers transporting russian oil,” said Andrii Klymenko, Editor-in-Chief, Head of BlackSeaNews.net Monitoring Mission.

Mykhailo Honchar, President of the Center for Global Studies “Strategy XXI”, Editor-in-Chief of the Black Sea Security magazine, emphasized that it is necessary to cut 75% of russia’s oil revenues. Currently, oil revenues amount to 40%, which helps fund the war budget.

In turn, Kateryna Yaresko, SeaKrime project investigator looking into the illegal export of Ukrainian grain and other goods through the ports of the Black and Azov Seas, said that the aggressor also continues replenishing its budget by selling stolen Ukrainian grain. In 2022-2023 alone russia exported over 3 million Ukrainian grain to Syria, Iran and Türkiye.

Dmytro Shulga, Director of the Europe and World Programme at the International Renaissance Foundation, added that the economic warfare should be part of russia’s ground war against Ukraine:

“One can’t wage a war with half measures. If this is a war of attrition, then the economy is an extremely important component of this war.”