Ukraine cannot nationalize banks owned in whole or part by the Russian state, but the regulator will impose sanctions against them if the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) decides so, Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Valeriya Gontareva announced in parliament on Friday.

"As of today, they [banks with Russian owners] have UAH 26 billion on the accounts of our commercial clients and UAH 22 billion in retail deposits. If anybody were to give us UAH 50 billion so we could cover this for our Ukrainian clients...Those funds are there [in the Russian-owned banks]...We cannot nationalize 15% of our banking system, but, if there's a decision by the NSDC, will fulfill it," she said.