Ukraine Welcomes EU’s Decision to Impose Sanctions over Human Rights Violations in Russia

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the decision of the European Union to apply for the first time a new global human rights sanctions regime against four Russian officials over human rights violations in Russia.

“The EU’s decision once again demonstrates that the protection of human rights remains an unconditional priority of the European Union’s foreign policy. We note the fact that the new sanctions regime was launched in a very short time. It can become an additional effective tool for our state’s fight against gross human rights violations in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, the restoration of its territorial integrity within internationally recognised borders,” reads the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.

The diplomats now hope that the EU’s sanctions regime will also be applied against those guilty of suppressing the fundamental rights and freedoms in the temporarily occupied Crimea and Sevastopol. No crime of the Russian occupation authorities should go unpunished.

Natalia Tolub