Poland announces sanctions against Russian oligarchs & entities amid war in Ukraine

In response to the Russian military offensive in Ukraine, Poland has decided to impose sanctions against 50 Russian oligarchs and entities. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski has stated that he has approved the decision of imposing sanctions against 50 Russian oligarchs and entities that have been doing business in Poland. The people who have been targeted by the Polish government in the sanctions include the Owner of Wildberries OOO, Bakalczuk Tatiana, Deripaska Oleg, who is a prominent Russian entrepreneur and pro-Kremlin oligarch, Fridman Mikhail, founder of ALFA Bank, Guteriev Mikhail, Russian businessman involved in the energy, potassium and hospitality sectors.

Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski stressed that with these sanctions, Poland aims to impact the economy of Russia "so that Russia cannot wage war in Ukraine. According to Mariusz Kaminski, the entities listed in the sanctions include Gazprom, which will be part of the sanctions in "the scope of its activities as part of Europol Gaz, such entities as ACRON PAO," TVN24.PL reported. He stated that entities that imported coal from Donbass and Russia have been targeted.

The oligarchs and entities associated with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's regime have also been included in the list of sanctions, as per the news report. He stated that the Poland government will apply several sanctions against the Russian business including the freezing of financial assets and properties of these companies, excluding the participation of companies in public tenders. According to Mariusz Kaminski, a ban on Russian oligarchs states that they will be barred from entering Poland. 

Poland PM meets Ukrainian counterpart

It is pertinent to mention here that ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Poland has been supporting the war-torn nation with military and has also welcomed a large number of Ukrainian refugees. In the latest development, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on 23 April, announced that Poland has so far provided Ukraine with military equipment worth PLN 7 billion (₹1,23,28,13,82,700), according to the statement released by the Polish government.

The latest announcement from Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki came after he held a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the ongoing situation of war in Ukraine and the recovery of Ukraine from the damage caused due to war. Both sides also discussed the sanctions imposed by the countries against Russia and stressed that the sanctions have not been able to stop Moscow from ending the war in Ukraine.

Mateusz Morawiecki and Denys Shmyhal signed a memorandum to strengthen cooperation between the two nations in the railway sector. The agreement is aimed to fulfil the Ukrainian needs for cargo transport as Russian armed forces have blocked the ports of Ukraine.