REUTERS
On July 31, the Council of the European Union added six legal entities involved in the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge to its sanctions list.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko is sure that European Union sanctions against Russian companies responsible for the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge will help stop the blockade by Russia of Ukrainian ports in the Sea of Azov.
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"The Kerch sanctions list opened a new page of our joint counteraction to the aggressive actions of the Kremlin to implement the actual blockade of Ukrainian sea ports in the Sea of Azov," the president wrote on Facebook on July 31.
"In collaboration with international partners, we will find effective political and legal, and security mechanisms to stop the Russian blockade of the Sea of Azov," he added.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine said that as of the second half of April, Russian coast guards launched inspections of foreign vessels bound for and heading from the ports of Ukraine. According to Ukraine's Infrastructure Ministry, Russian border guards detained 148 ships as of July 16. Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Volodymyr Omelyan says he believes the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine should consider the issue.
On July 31, the Council of the European Union added six legal entities involved in the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge to its sanctions list. Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the official bridge opening ceremony on May 15. The bridge affected the work of Ukrainian ports in Mariupol and Berdyansk as not all ships can pass under it.
The EU Official Journal of July 31, 2018, lists the six entities as follows: AO "Institute Giprostroymost — Saint-Petersburg," PJSC Mostotrest, JSC Zaliv Shipyard, Stroygazmontazh Corporation (SGM Group), Stroygazmontazh Most OOO, and CJSC VAD.
Other EU measures in place in response to the Ukraine crisis include economic sanctions targeting specific sectors of the Russian economy, currently in place until January 31, 2019; restrictive measures in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol, limited to the territory of Crimea and Sevastopol, currently in place until June 23, 2019.