UPDATE 2: Kiev blacklists Russia’s Bashneft, Kamaz, UTair, Unistream

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KIEV, Oct 18 (PRIME) -- Russia’s defense goods maker Rosoboronexport, truck maker Kamaz, airline UTair, money transferring firm Unistream, oil company Bashneft and Sberbank Leasing were added to the Ukrainian black list of companies, as follows from a statement published on the presidential Web site on Tuesday.

On Monday, Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko enacted a decision by the security council to prolong the term and extend the list of Russian officials and legal entities subject to the sanctions. The new list contains 638 people and 151 companies.

The sanctions against Sberbank Leasing envisage limits on its trade operations on the territory of Ukraine, suspension of transit of resources and traffic, and suspension of fulfillment of the economic and financial liabilities.

Kamaz’ trade operations were suspended, while UTair was prohibited from carrying flights across the territory of Ukraine. Unistream’s operations in the country were forbidden.

The sanctions against Rosoboronexport envisage an asset block, suspension of economic and financial liabilities, prohibition on legal contacts and suspension of financial operations.

RUSSIA’s RESPONSE

The prolongation of the existent sanctions and the extension of the black list will not have any serious consequences for the Russian economy, a representative of the Economic Development Ministry told PRIME.

“The prolongation of the earlier introduced sanctions and the extension of the list of individuals and companies included on the sanctions list will not have serious consequences for the Russian economy. The cooperation ties have long been broken,” the person said.

Mikhail Leontyev, spokesman for oil major Rosneft, the new owner of 50.08% in Bashneft, said that inclusion of Bashneft on the list will not create any difficulties for the company.

“This is to a certain extent natural because Bashneft is a part of us (Rosneft) and we are on the sanctions list of Ukraine. We did not do any harm to Ukraine but since the Americans and the Europeans included us on their lists, they (the Ukrainians) copied all these lists. We should have expected that, we can say, this is a businesslike approach,” he said.

Some affiliates and employees of Russian aluminum producer UC RUSAL were put on the list, which the company deems an unjustified step, it said in a statement later on Tuesday.

The company and its affiliates “do not influence the political processes taking place on the territory of Ukraine, do not pose a threat the national safety and do not hinder the economic development of the country,” RUSAL said.

According to the statement, the Ukrainian authorities’ action damages the shareholders of the company and RUSAL will try to force Kiev to compensate for it in courts. The company is also trying to minimize losses.

Spokesman for Kamaz Oleg Afanasyev said that the company suspended its supplies to Ukraine back in 2014.

A spokesperson for the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) said that the company will study what blacklisting will mean for it.

The sanctions against the Novocherkasskaya GRES power plant owned by power producer Wholesale Generating Company-2 (WGC-2) will not affect the company’s activities, a spokesperson said.

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