The US Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions against four Ukrainian politicians, engaged in either Russian government-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine or to influence the 2020 US presidential election, the agency’s website confirmed Jan. 20.
It added that the current restrictions are part of U.S. efforts to target purveyors of Russian disinformation. The quartet are alleged to have acted at the direction of Russia’s intelligence agency, the Federal Security Service, to undermine the Ukrainian government, even before the current Russian military buildup.
It is significant that the sanctions apply to two serving Ukrainian MPs, Taras Kozak and Oleh Voloshyn, members of the Opposition Platform — For Life party led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who is already subject to US sanctions for his role in undermining Ukrainian sovereignty in 2014.
Brian O’Toole, a former official who worked at the Department of the Treasury from 2009 to 2017, said
“This is a ‘don’t freaking test us’ kind of move to whack two sitting parliament members in Ukraine for facilitating Russian aggression plans.“
The Treasury Department said Kozak supported the Russian Federal Security Service's plan to denigrate senior members of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's inner circle, falsely accusing them of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic. Kozak also used his news platforms to amplify false narratives around the 2020 US election.
Voloshyn "has worked with Russian actors to undermine Ukrainian government officials and advocate on behalf of Russia." He also worked with US-designated Konstantin Kilimnik, a Russian national who has been sanctioned for attempts to influence the 2020 US election.
Sanctions have also been imposed on Volodymyr Oliynyk, a former Ukrainian MP from the Party of Regions, and Volodymyr Sivkovych, a former Deputy Secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council.
Oliynyk is alleged to have collected information about Ukrainian critical infrastructure, while Sivkovych allegedly worked with Russian intelligence operatives to build support for the idea of Ukraine ceding the annexed Crimean peninsula to Russia and for his alleged support of a disinformation campaign targeting the 2020 US presidential election.
Both are said to be currently residing in Russia.
