Ukraine mulls ban on oil product imports from Russia

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk on Wednesday has instructed his government to consider imposing a ban on oil products imported from Russia.

"We have imposed a number of sanctions against Russia, but one of the key elements -- imports of oil products, was not included in the sanction list. That's why, now, I am asking the Economy Ministry to prepare a mechanism for prohibiting purchases of oil products," Yatsenyuk told a cabinet meeting.

The proposal will be considered during the next government session slated for Friday, Yatsenyuk said.

Local experts suggested that the possible ban on purchases from Russia, on which Ukraine depends for about one-fourth of its overall oil products imports, would hike petrol and diesel fuel prices in Ukraine, affecting car owners and cargo transportation.

Last year, Ukraine imported 3.86 billion U.S. dollars' worth of oil products, of which 22 percent came from Russia.

In recent months, Ukraine and Russia have exchanged a series of restrictive measures against each other.

In particular, Moscow has suspended a Russia-Ukraine free trade agreement in response to Kiev's move to join a free trade zone with the European Union and imposed a total ban on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine starting from Jan. 1.

For its part, Ukraine has canceled preferential import duties on a range of Russian goods and imposed an embargo on some other products made in Russia. Endit