Volodymyr Zelensky / Photo from president.gov.ua

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree to deprive three Ukrainians of Ukrainian citizenship; two of them are on the list of the country's top ten smugglers.

Read alsoZelensky enforces NSDC resolution on sanctions against top 10 smugglersThat is according to the RBC Ukraine media outlet, referring to a source in the President's Office on April 14.

"The decision has been made. The documents were forwarded to the National Security and Defense Council [NSDC], the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the [State] Migration Service," the publication quoted its source as saying.

This refers to Vadym Alperin, Araik Amirkhanian, and Oleksandr Yerimichuk. The move is related to the fact that they have citizenship of other states, namely Israel, Armenia, and Romania, respectively.

Sanctions against smugglers: Background

  • On April 2, 2021, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine imposed personal sanctions on the country's "top ten smugglers."
  • "For the first time in Ukraine's history, personal sanctions have been introduced. In particular, assets and property were blocked of those who NSDC and SBU analytical data says can be referred to as Ukraine's top ten smugglers," Zelensky said.
  • Also, sanctions were applied to 79 companies.