The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has recently announced the imposition of sanctions on a group of 300 individuals, including the Syrian regime’s leader, Bashar al-Assad, and leaders from Russia and Iran. In addition, 141 legal entities have also been targeted by these sanctions.
As per the Ukrainian presidency, the sanctions target Assad himself and his prime minister, Hussein Arnous, and Foreign Minister, Faisal al-Mekdad. Additionally, the Chief of General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, the commander of drones in the Revolutionary Guards, Saeed Aghajani, and the head of the Jihad Organization, Abdullah Mehrabi, are also included in the list of individuals subject to sanctions.
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The list of sanctioned entities primarily comprises Russian defence industry companies, including Kalashnikov, Almaz-Antey Space Defense, and Ural Automobile Plant, among others.
At the same time, the list includes several Iranian companies, notably Shahid Aerospace and the Aerospace Industry Research Center Shahid.
According to Ukrainian media, the sanctions, which came under the decree signed by Zelensky, aim to freeze assets and completely suspend commercial operations, flights and transport through the territory of Ukraine.
In addition to preventing the withdrawal of capital outside the borders of Ukraine, suspending the fulfillment of economic and financial obligations.
The imposition of sanctions by the Ukrainian president comes on the anniversary of the start of the Syrian revolution in 2011 after it broke out in the city of Daraa.
In the past two days, Syrians in the northern part of the country have expressed their support and solidarity with the Ukrainian people on the 12th anniversary of the revolution. As a symbol of their solidarity, they raised the national flag of Ukraine in various locations throughout the Aleppo countryside and Idleb governorate.
In July of 2022, the Syrian regime severed diplomatic ties with Kyiv, citing “reciprocity.” This decision came weeks after Ukraine had taken a similar action following Assad’s recognition of the independence of the pro-Russian separatist republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
Before that, on June 29th, 2022, President Zelensky declared that the relationship between Ukraine and Syria had ended. He also stated that the sanctions imposed on the Syrian regime would continue to intensify.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
