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Ukraine Pushes EU to Sanction Russian Billionaires Vladimir Lisin and Vladimir Potanin
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Ukraine is urging the European Union to impose sanctions on Russian billionaires Vladimir Lisin and Vladimir Potanin, Politico reported on September 24.
Kyiv argues that targeting their massive steel and nickel enterprises is a necessary step to restrict Russia’s war economy.
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The push from Ukraine comes shortly after EU envoys agreed to remove prominent Russian businessmen Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the bloc’s sanctions list just days prior.
According to Vladyslav Vlasiuk, the commissioner advising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on sanctions policy, the EU created a “risky precedent” with those removals, but could win back credibility by listing Lisin and Potanin.
Vlasiuk told Politico’s Playbook that Lisin and Potanin control major companies—NLMK and Nornickel, respectively—that are highly beneficial to the Russian war economy. Including them in the next batch of individual sanctions would effectively cut their enterprises off from trading in the EU.
“Everyone is aware about these guys but avoiding any action against them,” Vlasiuk stated. “But now arguably there is leverage to push this forward.”
To date, the sheer size of the businesses owned by the two billionaires and their substantial footprints in Europe have kept them off the sanctions list, Politico noted.
Lisin’s steel company, NLMK, operates processing facilities in the Belgian region of Wallonia, which led the Belgian government to oppose his listing. The company also maintains production sites in Strasbourg, France; Verona, Italy; and Frederiksvaerk, Denmark.
Politico reported that, similarly, Potanin has avoided sanctions due to Europe’s dependency on Russian nickel and palladium, particularly within the automotive industry, which has enabled him to continue growing his empire during the war.
Vlasiuk linked the hesitation over Lisin and Potanin to broader frustrations within the bloc, pointing to the ongoing debate over whether to sanction Aughinish Alumina, an Irish exporter that supplies Russia.
“It’s always the same story. You can have 20 countries for whom [sanctioning] is an obvious decision and one who opposes,” Vlasiuk told Politico. “These alumina exports should really be banned. It’s obvious for us, and we have plenty of ideas for what to do next.”
Lisin’s camp has strongly pushed back against Kyiv’s proposal. In a statement provided to Politico’s Playbook, a spokesperson for the billionaire denied any involvement with Russia’s war effort.
“This information campaign is unfair competition, where the sanctions-related agenda is leveraged as a way of pressure to eliminate a competitor from the market and to inflict further substantial harm on the European economy,” the spokesperson wrote.
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“It is well established and has long been recognized that neither Mr. Lisin nor NLMK cooperate with the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex. NLMK manufactures exclusively civilian products,” they continued.
Representatives for Potanin did not immediately reply to Politico’s request for comment regarding the proposed sanctions.
On September 23, 51 UN member states issued a joint statement ahead of a UN Security Council meeting urging Russia to agree to a “full, immediate, and unconditional ceasefire” in Ukraine, a commitment Kyiv already accepted in March 2025.
In response, Russia launched a massive 10-hour, overnight assault on September 24, firing 227 aerial targets at Ukraine, including 219 drones and seven missiles. The barrage triggered air raid sirens across Kyiv for virtually the entire day, killing multiple people, injuring dozens, and damaging civilian infrastructure including a maternity hospital, residential buildings, and the historic “Shaiba” market.
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