Photo from UNIAN, Vladyslav Musienko

Brussels-based RFE/RL journalist Rikard Jozwiak says the European Union will lift sanctions against two more allies of now-disgraced Ukrainian ex-president Viktor Yanukovych.

In particular, the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the Governments of the Member States to the European Union (COREPER) next week will lift sanctions against former acting prime minister of Ukraine, first deputy prime minister Serhiy Arbuzov and former education minister Dmytro Tabachnyk.

Read alsoLawyer: Ivanyushchenko has nothing to do with money confiscated in Latvia"Only eight people remain on the list now, including Yanukovych and his son. If you wonder why EU doesn't go after oligarchs in Russia due to [opposition leader Alexei] Navalny, just look at this dwindling list," Jozwiak wrote on Twitter on February 23.

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If sanctions are lifted, the ban on entry into the EU and the asset freeze will only apply to Yanukovych, former prosecutor general Viktor Pshonka, former interior minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, former deputy interior minister Viktor Ratushniak, the ex-president's son Oleksandr Yanukovych, former prosecutor general's son Artem Pshonka, energy tycoon Serhiy Kurchenko, and former tax minister Oleksandr Klymenko.

Sanctions against Yanukovych's allies

Former officials have been hit with sanctions for being identified as responsible for the misuse of Ukraine's public finances or accused of abuse of power, which led to budget losses.

Sanctions expire on March 6, 2021.