Petrenko to initiate expansion of sanctions against Russian officials in case of refusal to release Sentsov, Kolchenko

11:50, 22.10.2016 1 min read

Justice Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Petrenko intends to initiate the expansion of personal sanctions against Russian officials if Russia refuses to release Ukrainian citizens Oleh Sentsov and Oleksandr Kolchenko.

"We will never leave our people alone with the hostile repressive machine. The guys' returning to Ukraine is a prerequisite for a further dialogue. If Russia does not do this and continue to abuse political prisoners, I will initiate the expansion of personal sanctions against Russian officials involved in this," Petrenko wrote on his Facebook page.

He noted Russia justified its refusal to release Sentsov and Kolchenko with the fact they supposedly are Russian citizens, although they protested against Russian occupation and were arrested for this.

"Such steps on the part of the aggressor confirm Russia has no place among the democratic countries in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," Petrenko said.