Ukraine has imposed sanctions on russian commanders involved in missile attacks and religious propagandists

This was reported by the Office of the President.

The first sanctions list includes 121 russian citizens. Among them are commanders of long-range aviation units of the russian Aerospace Forces.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, russia has used over 4,100 air-launched cruise missiles and aeroballistic missiles. It was these units that carried out strikes on the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital on 8 July 2024, on high-rise buildings in Ternopil on 19 November 2025, on the Amstor shopping centre in Kremenchuk on 27 June 2022, and on energy and transport infrastructure facilities in various regions of Ukraine.

Commanders of the russian Navy who fired on Ukraine from surface ships and submarines carrying Kalibr cruise missiles have also been sanctioned. Among them is one of the commanders of the 30th Surface Ship Division, who ensured the combat readiness of the frigates ‘Admiral Makarov’ and ‘Admiral Essen’.

In total, russia has used over 1,500 missiles of this type during 160 attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities. The commanders against whom Ukraine has imposed sanctions were involved in strikes on Kyiv’s thermal power stations and energy infrastructure facilities in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn, Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.

The sanctions also apply to commanders of missile and artillery units of the russian Ground Forces who struck Ukraine with ground-launched cruise missiles and Iskander-M ballistic missiles. In total, the russians have attacked Ukraine with missiles of this type over 1,100 times.

Individual commanders of these units organised and coordinated missile strikes on the centre of Sumy on 13 April 2025, where 25 people were killed; on the centre of Chernihiv on 17 April 2024, where 18 people were killed; and on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, where 59 people were killed in the russian attack.

The President’s Representative on Sanctions Policy, Vladyslav Vlasyuk, noted that this is one of the first instances in which Ukrainian intelligence services have managed to clearly identify over 100 specific individuals who issue orders and oversee missile launches against Ukraine.

“They are common terrorists who should be sanctioned in all jurisdictions,” Vlasyuk emphasised.

The second package of sanctions signed by Zelenskyy concerns nine russian religious figures. They have publicly called for the killing of Ukrainians, openly support russian aggression against Ukraine, and use religion for propaganda and to justify russia’s invasion of Ukraine. These are representatives of the russian Orthodox Church and its affiliated organisations.

Source: Babel