Kyiv says there is no "collapse of cooperation" between US and EU on sanctions

Vladyslav Vlasiuk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, has denied claims of a supposed breakdown in cooperation between the United States and the European Union on sanctions. He insists that coordination between the partners continues despite changes in the political context.

Vlasiuk was responding to a European Pravda article citing German media, which claimed there had been a "collapse of cooperation" between the EU and US in their joint efforts to prevent Moscow from evading sanctions.

He disagreed with this assessment and asserted that cooperation remains ongoing, though influenced by political shifts.

"I’ve been in contact with American sanctions officials and met with them twice in the last three weeks at joint working meetings in Europe, where we discussed sanctions evasion and strengthening sanctions.

Is it the same 'momentum' as before? No, but that is purely due to the political context.

A 'collapse of cooperation'? Absolutely not," Vlasiuk wrote on Facebook.

Vlasiuk stressed that there continues to be active information and idea sharing within the sanctions coalition.

He noted that all partners are broadly aware of each other's plans: the UK is preparing new sanctions, the EU is working on its 18th sanctions package, and the US is developing measures targeting the "shadow fleet" and circumvention schemes.

At the same time, he pointed out that it will be difficult for the EU to adopt new sanctions without US support on the issue of Hungary's position.

"As before, there is a great deal of information and idea sharing within the sanctions coalition. Everyone is generally aware of each other's plans," Vlasiuk emphasised.

On 25 May, US President Donald Trump condemned Russia’s latest attacks on Ukraine and said he was considering imposing additional sanctions on Russia.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was weighing the possibility of introducing new sanctions this week – though no final decision had been made.