President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, during talks with Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultkvist, called for increased sanctions against Russia.
“Confirming Ukraine’s commitment to the peace process, Peter Poroshenko noted the need to “coerce” Russia to peace, primarily through strengthening the defense potential of Ukraine, increasing the sanctions and diplomatic pressure on Moscow,” the presidential administration said after the meeting.
In addition, the parties discussed the issue of the UN peacekeeping mission in the east of Ukraine.
Western states, accusing Russia of illegally annexing the Crimea and interfering in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, imposed a series of sanctions against Moscow that affect individual citizens, enterprises, and industrial sectors. Retaliatory measures set the course for import substitution. Moscow has repeatedly stated sanctions have been counterproductive to the West. Recently, some EU countries have called to abolish them, as it is their own producers who are suffering from market losses.
But that’s not Poroshenko’s problem.