Zelensky calls on EU to strengthen sanctions on Russian business, names Fridman and Usmanov
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the European Union to increase sanctions pressure on Russian business and oligarchs, singling out Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov. His appeal came as Russia has launched nearly 500 strike drones at Ukraine since the morning of September 12, and as EU ambassadors have again failed to agree on extending personal sanctions ahead of a September 15 deadline.
Key points
- Zelensky called on the EU via social media to impose sanctions on Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov.
- Since the morning of September 12, Russia has launched nearly 500 strike drones at Ukraine, according to Zelensky.
- EU ambassadors failed on September 11 to agree on extending personal sanctions over Russia's aggression.
- Slovakia and France blocked the extension, seeking changes to the sanctioned persons list.
- Slovakia previously pushed for the removal of Fridman and Usmanov during the March 14 extension.
- The deadline for extending EU personal sanctions is September 15.
- Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said Russian attacks on business could cost Ukraine's budget around 70 billion hryvnia in tax revenues.
Why it matters
Zelensky's intervention lands three days before the EU's September 15 deadline to extend personal sanctions on Russian individuals, with member states divided over the list. By naming Fridman and Usmanov — the same two oligarchs Slovakia pushed to delist in March — Kyiv is directly pressuring the member states whose objections have stalled the extension, while tying the demand to a sharp escalation in Russian drone strikes and a projected hit to Ukraine's budget.
What happened
President Volodymyr Zelensky used social media on September 12 to call on the European Union to strengthen sanctions against Russian business and oligarchs, explicitly naming Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov. He framed the appeal against what he described as nearly 500 Russian strike drones launched at Ukraine since that morning, saying that scale of attacks is not the moment to discuss easing sanctions on individuals with no demonstrated role in protecting life or reducing Vladimir Putin's war-making capacity. He also argued that Russian oligarchs and businesses whose taxes fund the war budget should find no safe haven abroad while the war continues, and that Europe should not treat them as friends while the Ukrainian economy is under attack. Separately, EU ambassadors failed on September 11 to agree on extending personal sanctions over Russia's aggression because of demands from Slovakia and France to change the sanctioned persons list; the previous extension was on March 14, when Slovakia similarly pushed to remove Fridman and Usmanov. Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky said Russian attacks on Ukrainian business could cost the budget around 70 billion hryvnia in tax revenues.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian agencies and media lead with Zelensky's direct call, naming Fridman and Usmanov and tying the sanctions demand to the reported scale of Russian drone strikes on September 12. The coverage frames the EU's internal debate over sanctions extension against the cost Russia is imposing on Ukrainian businesses and the public budget, presenting continued sanctions as the appropriate response to intensifying attacks.
Background
The EU's previous extension of personal sanctions against Russian individuals took place on March 14. During that round, Slovakia pushed until the last moment to remove Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov from the list. Ukraine's prime minister, named in the supplied facts as Serhiy Koretsky, estimated that Russian attacks on business could cost Ukraine's budget approximately 70 billion hryvnia in tax revenues.