Ukraine to Seek EU Sanctions against Rosatom – Foreign Minister
Ukraine would like Russian company Rosatom to be included as a target in the new package of European Union (EU) sanctions.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's Minister for Foreign Affairs, said this in an interview with RBK-Ukraine.
Responding to questions about the details of the eighth package of EU sanctions, Kuleba said Ukraine will promote President Zelenskyy's view that Rosatom should face sanctions.
According to Kuleba, this became relevant in the light of the events at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (the ZNPP), where not only Russian military personnel, but also Rosatom employees have been present. The Minister’s view is that Russians act as criminals.
"There is every reason to apply sanctions against them. There are countries in the EU that stand against this and we will work with them," the Minister noted.
According to his forecast, the new EU sanctions package may likely be introduced before the end of the year.
Kuleba admitted that the appetite for new sanctions is fading among some EU countries, and that each subsequent package will be more difficult to approve than the previous one, under the current status quo. However, according to him, "this is a natural process, you have to work with them [EU countries - ed]."
As reported, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) noted the presence of the Rosatom expert group during the visit to the ZNPP, which, as the Russian side of the mission stated, "provides advice on nuclear safety, security and actions for the ZNPP management".
Hungary demands the EU guarantee that Russian nuclear energy will not be subject to sanctions.