President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree imposing sanctions against Russian commanders involved in missile attacks on Ukraine and Russian religious figures who justify Russian aggression and spread Russian propaganda.
This was reported by the Presidentʼs Office.
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. These units were the ones that struck the “Okhmatdyt” childrenʼs hospital on July 8, 2024, high-rise buildings in Ternopil on November 19, 2025, the “Amstor” shopping mall in Kremenchuk on June 27, 2022, and energy and transport infrastructure facilities in various regions of Ukraine.
Also sanctioned were commanders of the Russian Navy who fired on Ukraine from surface ships and submarines carrying “Kalibr” cruise missiles. Among them is one of the commanders of the 30th Surface Ship Division, which provided combat support for the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen.
In total, Russia has used more than 1 500 missiles of this type in 160 attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities. The commanders against whom Ukraine has imposed sanctions are involved in strikes on Kyiv TPP plants 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 Armyʼs Ground Forces, who attacked Ukraine with ground-based cruise missiles and “Iskander-M” ballistic missiles. In total, the Russians attacked Ukraine with missiles of this type more than 1 100 times.
Individual commanders of these units organized and coordinated missile strikes on the central part of Sumy on April 13, 2025, where 25 people were killed, on the center of Chernihiv on April 17, 2024, where 18 people were killed, and on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region — then 59 people were killed in the Russian attack.
Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasyuk noted that this is one of the first cases when Ukrainian special services managed to clearly identify more than 100 specific people who give orders and describe missile launches against Ukraine.
"They are ordinary terrorists who should be sanctioned in all jurisdictions," Vlasyuk emphasized.
The second package of sanctions signed by Zelensky concerns nine Russian religious figures. They have publicly called for the killing of Ukrainians, openly support Russian aggression against Ukraine, and offer religion to propagate and justify the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These are representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church and its related structures.
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