Russia needs major victories to thwart Zelensky's and Trump's plans

Zelensky starts removing political competitors ahead of elections seizing oligarch assets, allegedly for transfer them to Americans.

Photo: president.gov.ua by PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY Official website, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelensky Imposes Harsh Sanctions on Ukrainian Oligarchs

Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) introduced indefinite sanctions against several prominent Ukrainian businessmen and politicians.

The sanctioned individuals include:

• Petro Poroshenko – Former president and key figure in Ukraine's autocephaly (church independence) process;
• Ihor Kolomoisky – Zelensky's initial backer, now imprisoned;
• Hennadiy Boholiubov – Kolomoisky's business partner and former co-owner of PrivatBank;
• Kostiantyn Zhevago – Ukrainian billionaire;
• Viktor Medvedchuk – Politician and businessman, now in Russia.

According to officials, all were allegedly engaged in activities benefiting Russia, with criminal cases opened against them.

For instance, Petro Poroshenko is accused of helping form the Party of Regions and working in Viktor Yanukovych's government. He is also accused of collaborating with Medvedchuk and Moscow to allow the Centrenergo company to purchase coal from enterprises in LPR/DPR-controlled territories.

The sanctions include:

• Asset freezes;
• Bans on trade operations;
• Prevention of capital outflow;
• Exclusion from privatization and halt of resource transit;
• Prohibition of financial transactions, dividend payouts, and stock market activities;
• Revocation of state awards.

Zelensky Prepares for Survival

Ukrainian outlet Strana suggests that Poroshenko and Medvedchuk were sanctioned for political reasons as they are potential election competitors. Meanwhile, Kolomoisky, Boholiubov, and Zhevago were targeted so that Zelensky can strip them of resource extraction licenses as part of a deal with American investors.

• Kolomoisky and Boholiubov own the world's largest manganese ore deposits in the Nikopol Manganese Basin (Dnipropetrovsk region).
• Zhevago controls one of Ukraine's largest iron ore reserves (Poltava Mining and Processing Plant).

Some key oligarchs remain untouched for now:

Rinat Akhmetov – Likely spared due to heavy financial support for Ukraine's military and opposition to Trump's peace plans. However, he has been hit with a 25% tariff on Ukrainian steel, a possible warning.
Viktor Pinchuk – Allegedly "hiding" General Zaluzhny in London, also faces economic pressure.
Dmytro Firtash – Avoided US extradition on corruption charges and is funding Ukraine's military, making him temporarily "safe."

These oligarchs may also be at risk of being purged.

Zelensky's sanctions also serve to distract public attention from negative media coverage of Trump's push for peace talks with Russia excluding Kyiv.

Russia Needs Major Battlefield Victories

Russia must prevent Ukraine's elections, which could install a new anti-Russian leader with support from the Ukrainian diaspora. To achieve this, Moscow allegedly seeks major military victories to:

• Establish military commandant offices in liberated areas;
• Hand over civilian administration to pro-Russian officials;
• Partition Ukraine-leaving only a small part under Trump's control, similar to the post-WWII division of Germany.

Disclaimer: The author's views do not necessarily reflect those of Pravda.Ru editors.