07.07.2025 20:42
Ukraine has launched a significant crackdown on Russian crypto networks suspected of financing the ongoing war, imposing sanctions on a substantial number of entities. This sweeping action targets 19 Russian cryptocurrency mining operations, 17 digital asset operators, and five cryptocurrency exchanges, all implicated in facilitating the evasion of international sanctions.
The sanctions extend beyond Russia's borders, encompassing foreign companies based in Cyprus, Kazakhstan, and the United Arab Emirates, deemed complicit in assisting Russia's circumvention of financial restrictions through cryptocurrency transactions. This coordinated effort follows intensified Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine and Ukrainian counter-offensives targeting deep within Russian territory.
A total of 60 firms and 73 individuals have had their assets frozen, accused of aiding Moscow's war effort through digital financial channels. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy personally signed the decree on Sunday, implementing this "special sanctions package." It's designed not only to cripple crypto-based funding for the Russian military but also to disrupt broader aspects of Russia's financial infrastructure, including companies involved in payment processing and international transactions.
President Zelenskyy highlighted the scale of the problem, citing one sanctioned company alone that channeled billions of dollars – primarily to the Russian military-industrial complex – since the beginning of the year. He emphatically declared the intention to completely dismantle such schemes. The move underscores growing concerns about Russia's increasing reliance on cryptocurrency to support its war effort, given its limited access to the global financial system.
The initiative, spearheaded by Ukraine's National Bank, specifically names several key players, including LLC A7, a firm sanctioned for releasing a ruble-pegged stablecoin in February intended for international transactions. Other notable entities on the blacklist include United Financial Technologies and Bifit, a software provider servicing sanctioned Russian banks. According to a Facebook post by Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Zelenskyy's Commissioner for Sanctions Policy, five international corporations were also included in the sanctions. This decisive action demonstrates Ukraine's commitment to disrupting Russia's financial war machine and highlights the evolving role of cryptocurrency in geopolitical conflicts.
