Ukraine announced a ban on all imports from Russia

Ukrainian border guards at the Goptovka border gate in the Russian border region in 2018 reuters

Reuters news agency on April 10 Ukraine notice banning all imports from Russia. Russia was one of Ukraine’s important trading partners before sending troops to Ukraine, with a total annual import value of about $6 billion.

“Today we officially announce the complete severance of trade in goods with the aggressive country,” said Ukraine’s Economy Minister. Yulia Svyrydenko wrote on Facebook on April 9 and called on other countries to do the same and impose sanctions on Russia.

Since Russia started campaign in Ukraine On February 24, the exchange of goods and services between the two countries almost ceased, but until now Ukraine has officially made a decision.

According to Svyrydenko, the Russian budget “will not receive this fund, which reduces the ability to finance the war”.

“This step by Ukraine can be seen as an example for our Western partners, stimulating them to increase sanctions on Russia, including imposing an energy ban and isolating all Russian banks,” she said. stated.

According to TASS, quoting Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, unprecedented sanctions against Russia will have a greater impact on international institutions. According to him, “illegal sanctions” always degrade the international legal system and cause further deterioration of all international institutions.

Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said on April 4 that Russia was facing its most difficult situation in three decades due to unprecedented Western sanctions, but foreign efforts to isolate Russia from the global economy. will fail, according to Reuters.

In another development, AFP reported that Finland is preparing to make a historic decision “before the middle of the summer” on the possibility of applying to join NATO to deter Russia.

The country is not militarily affiliated, partly to avoid provoking Russia, a neighbor that shares a border of about 1,300 km. However, Russia’s campaign in Ukraine caused a sharp increase in the percentage of people who supported Finland’s entry into NATO.

“Never underestimate the ability of the Finns to make quick decisions world change,” said former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, who has long been a supporter of NATO.

Next week, a national security report drafted by the Finnish government will be sent to Parliament for MPs to consider before voting.

“We will discuss it very carefully but without taking any more time than is necessary. I think we will finish the discussion before mid-summer,” said Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

According to former Prime Minister Stubb, the application will probably be submitted around May before the NATO summit in Madrid (Spain) in June.