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Ukrainian opposition party branded US sanctions against its members as ‘political terror’

The opposition noted that the US and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, instead of fighting oligarchs and corrupt officials, are launching attacks on the Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andrei Ratmirov/TASS

Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

© Andrei Ratmirov/TASS

KIEV, January 21. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Opposition Platform - For Life (OPFL) party considers US sanctions against its members as an "act of international political terror."

"The OPFL states that sanctions and biased criminal cases against the representatives of our party directed at obstructing the lawmaking activity are an act of international political terror conducted on the orders of the criminal Ukrainian government," the statement published on Thursday on the party’s website said.

The opposition noted that the US and Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, instead of fighting oligarchs and corrupt officials, are launching attacks on the OPFL. "There are no doubts that the introduction of these sanctions is the result of close communication and personal agreements between Vladimir Zelensky and US officials, in particular, US State Secretary Antony Blinken and US senators," the party asserted, saying that this was a "direct result of the criminal policy depriving Ukraine of sovereignty, handing it over to be externally governed. Precisely because of our party’s fight for Ukraine’s sovereignty, its independence, the fight against external governing, the sanctions are being introduced against our party’s leadership."

Earlier on Thursday, the US Department of the Treasury imposed sanctions on four Ukrainians who, according to Washington, allegedly "engaged in Russian government-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine." They included former Deputy Head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Vladimir Sivkovich, the Verkhovna Rada delegates from the OPFL Taras Kozak and Oleg Voloshin and Vladimir Oleynik, a former lawmaker. The Departmenr of the Treasury’s press release alleges that "the four individuals have played various roles in Russia’s global influence campaign to destabilize sovereign countries in support of the Kremlin’s political objectives."

On February 2, 2021, the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine on the recommendations of the Verkhovna Rada and Ukraine’s Security Service imposed personal sanctions against Kozak and his TV channels NewsOne, ZIK and 112 Ukraine.

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