According to Tass on April 18, during the cabinet meeting, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that he had signed a decision to ban oil exports to Ukraine. This is considered a response to the move to expand the list of Russian goods banned from import into Ukraine.
"The Russian government banned the export of Russian oil and oil products to Ukraine," the cabinet chief said.
Mr. Medvedev also announced to extend the ban on the import of certain Ukrainian goods (machine-made goods, light industry, metal processing). These items have a total value of imports into Russia in 2018 up to 250 million USD.
"We have to protect our interests and respond," the Russian Prime Minister said.
Besides, Russia also created a list of goods that are only allowed to export when having a separate license. This list will take effect from June 1 next. Russia’s prime minister said the list includes energy products such as coal or oil.
Ukraine’s economy has suffered a lot of damage after Kiev "chased" the West to punish Russia. According to preliminary assessments, due to the crisis of relations with Russia, Ukraine lost nearly half of its export revenue each year, ie about $ 20 billion in five years.
Now with Moscow continuing to take retaliatory measures, whether Ukraine’s economy can stand still when Russia remains Ukraine’s largest trading partner with a turnover of over $ 14 billion.
The end of economic and trade relations with the Russian Federation will cause enormous damage to Ukraine’s economy. Russia is an important market for the distribution of Ukrainian goods and maintains the ability to buy extremely important items for Ukraine.
For example, Ukraine buys nuclear fuel in Russia. If all cooperation is blocked, Ukraine will be damaged by the production of nuclear power plants that supply more than half of electricity in Ukraine.
Without buying nuclear fuel in Russia, Ukraine’s cosmology sector will also be affected. Ukraine must stop producing missiles and no potential to participate in spacecraft launch.
On the other hand, what if Russia stops importing goods from Ukraine? Economic losses are inevitable, but in the last 5 years, Russia has remained "healthy" and maintained stable economic growth.
Items that Russia could only import from Ukraine were gradually replaced by domestic products, while Ukraine could not do the same.
Russia is currently leaving open a contract to transport gas to Europe with Ukraine. In case of necessity, Moscow may terminate this contract, and it may also be the end of Ukraine’s economy.
In an interview on NewsOne in late January, Ukrainian parliament member Vadim Rabinovich predicts that if Russia completes a contract to transport gas to Europe, Ukraine’s economy will collapse.
According to him, in the case of the loss of transit of Russian gas, Kiev will have to pay a huge sum for maintaining gas pipes no longer in operation.
"On January 1, 2020, a contract with Russia to provide and ensure the amount of gas will end. To maintain an empty pipeline, we need $ 3 billion per year. Which new contract will be signed, so what will we have? ", Rabinovich asked.
