And who exactly are the “sanctioners”?

A meeting of the NSDC. Photo: Umerov’s Facebook

On 13 November, Zelensky signed an NSDC decree imposing sanctions on businessmen Tymur Mindich and Oleksandr Zukerman, both of whom appear in a major corruption case.

Mindich is Zelensky’s long-time partner from “Kvartal 95” and, as the media claim, his long-time close friend.

The sanctions were imposed for only three years (the standard term is ten). At the same time, Mindich and Zukerman are listed in the document as citizens of Israel, meaning their Ukrainian assets are unaffected.

It is worth recalling that these men are accused of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in the energy and defense sectors – at a time when Ukrainians spend hours without electricity and the front lacks weapons.

Meanwhile, in recent months Zelensky has imposed sanctions on hierarchs, priests, and even journalists essentially for the mere fact of belonging to the UOC – and without any leniency.

Equally noteworthy is the composition of the body imposing the sanctions. In the section “Members of the NSDC,” the officials listed right after Zelensky – R. Umerov, H. Halushchenko, S. Hrynchuk – are themselves figures in the very NABU investigation that has already resulted in sanctions against Mindich and Zukerman.

Court rulings are still ahead, of course, but based on the recordings provided by NABU, it is fair to say that these individuals have, at the very least, far from impeccable reputations. At most – they may be involved in stealing sums from the people that an ordinary person can hardly imagine.

And these are the people who made the decision to sanction representatives of the UOC.

One of Griboedov’s characters uttered a line that became proverbial: “And who are the judges?” In our case, it can be updated slightly: “And who are the sanctioners?”

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