The Kyiv Independent Live in London: 
Ukraine prepares sanctions on 20-plus Russian oligarchs in response to EU delistings
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Ukraine is planning to sanction more than 20 Russian oligarchs in response to the European Union's decision to remove billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its sanctions list, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on Oct. 1.
The list has already been approved by President Volodymyr Zelensky and is being formalized, Sybiha told journalists, describing the move as an "asymmetric response" to the EU decision.
"We fought until the last moment, both publicly and privately, to prevent this from happening," Sybiha said. "You removed two oligarchs, and we will add twenty."
According to Sybiha, Canada has already confirmed to Kyiv that it does not plan to lift its own sanctions against Usmanov and Fridman. Ukraine is also working with the U.K., Japan, Australia, and other partners to ensure the two oligarchs remain sanctioned by other countries.
The EU had removed the two oligarchs from its sanctions list on Sept. 22 as part of a compromise to extend the bloc's broader individual sanctions regime for 36 months. The measures had previously been renewed every six months, requiring recurring unanimous agreement among EU member states.
The longer extension reduces the frequency of politically challenging renewal negotiations, during which in the past individual member states have exerted pressure for specific names to be removed from the list.
France had pushed for Usmanov's removal, while Slovakia was also involved in negotiations, and Latvia agreed to allow the delisting of Usmanov and Fridman in order to prevent the sanctions regime from lapsing completely.
Usmanov, who controls mining and steel giant Metalloinvest, and Fridman, founder of the Alfa Group conglomerate, are among Russia's wealthiest businessmen. Both were sanctioned by the EU following Russia's full-scale invasion over their alleged ties to the Kremlin.
