President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree enacting the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to amend the sectoral sanctions imposed on financial institutions of the Russian Federation. These restrictions were originally introduced in February 2023 by an NSDC decision approved by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
At the time, the sanctions were imposed for 50 years on all banks, non-bank lending institutions, payment system operators, securities market participants, insurance companies, and investment funds registered or operating in Russia.
The National Bank of Ukraine has prepared new amendments to that decision. They are designed to prevent Russia from using modern financial instruments, including cryptocurrencies, to evade sanctions.
The sanctions now also apply to operators of digital financial asset platforms, cryptocurrency service providers, financial platforms, and clearing organizations.
Transactions involving virtual assets, as well as the use of platforms, services, or products that facilitate transactions in financial and virtual assets, will be prohibited.
Several provisions of the updated decision align with the approaches introduced under the European Union's 19th and 20th sanctions packages against Russia. At the same time, Ukraine has adopted a broader approach by extending sanctions to all virtual assets backed by the Russian ruble. This is intended to make it more difficult to use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions.
"Sanctions cannot remain static while Russia constantly adapts its methods of evasion. Updating the sectoral sanctions means that the restrictions now target not only what Russia used yesterday, but also the financial infrastructure it is building to evade sanctions tomorrow," emphasized Advisor – Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasiuk.