Sanctions against Russia demonstrate unanimity of U.S. and EU as well as their support for Ukraine

"All Russia’s attempts to split up the European Union and not to give the possibility of coordinated actions of the EU and the U.S. have been doomed to failure", underlined Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk at a meeting of the Government on Thursday, July 17.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk underlined that a joint decision of Western partners, the President of the United States and the EU heads of state of member countries on introduction of the next phase of sanctions against the aggressor – the Russian Federation - "has demonstrated the unity of the U.S. and the EU, their commitment to the values of democracy, peace as well as support for Ukraine".

"It's time to pay for a breach of international law, military aggression, a constant supply of weapons from Russia to Ukraine, financing of bandits, who are killing civilians and trying to destroy Ukraine. And Russia will pay for the war unleashed against Ukraine", stressed said the PM.

"It is not terrorism, but a war unleashed and supported by Russia and its government against Ukraine, Ukrainians, our present and our future," he said.

The Prime Minister is convinced that the de-escalation of the conflict should be put on the agenda: "Russia must realize that it has also jeopardized its own people, as its people are suffering from an inadequate right-radical Russian policy towards Ukraine."

"The Russian leadership has been carried away by the idea of Russian national chauvinism and decided that Ukraine can be the theatre of hostilities in order to maintain the rating of the Russian government and its leadership," he added.

The PM emphasized that Russia must immediately stop weapons supplies. Dozens of tanks, MANPADS, the latest equipment, as well as trained and armed agents of the FSB and the Main Intelligence Directorate, are in Donetsk and Luhansk.

"What’s the Russia’s purpose? Its aim is to seize Ukraine. It will not manage to do it. To cause economic challenges? We will overcome them. To demonstrate its leadership across the world? It hereby shows its weakness. Leaders should behave other way," he added.

As to the future format of talks the Prime Minister stressed that "he was, has been and remains committed to holding negotiations only in the Geneva format, which provides quadripartite talks at the EU level representing all EU member states, the United States, Russia and Ukraine."

Arserniy Yatsenyuk appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin: "You must stop the war, you must stop maintaining bandits, separatists. It is time to stop building a "Great Russia" at the expense of Ukraine. It turns out Ukraine will remain, as the "Great Russia" will never appear."