With brutal Russian attacks on Ukraine mounting, and Putin turning a blind eye to empty political talk and weak sanctions with loopholes, new Ukrainian research shows that faith in Western sanctions is shaky. While Western politicians continue to purchase Russian fossil fuels, sending billions in revenues to fund Russia’s war machine, Ukrainian experts are calling for the immediate closing of loopholes and implementation of stronger sanctions that have been threatened but not delivered for weeks.
New Ukrainian research shows that Ukrainians’ pessimism about the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia is growing: in May 2025, 68% of Ukrainians believe existing sanctions are ineffective. For comparison, in February 2023, the number was only 41.3%. This decline is largely due to the fact that it is broadly understood in Ukraine that the West continues to send billions to Russia through purchases of Russian fossil fuels. Further problems include weak and partial sanctions on Russia’s shadow fleet, and continued European purchase of Russian LNG gas, especially on spot markets.
Speaking for Ukrainian campaign group Razom We Stand, Founder and Executive Director Svitlana Romanko stated;
“We are thankful for the praise that Western leaders have given to the courageous Ukrainians who fight for democracy and freedom on our front lines. Yet as Russian attacks intensify, those same leaders in Europe must stop buying Russian LNG gas, which funds the Russian rockets that rain down upon both our defenders and civilians every day. Politicians must instead close all Russian sanctions loopholes, including sanctioning not only 200, but all the estimated 1000 ships of the Russian shadow fleet. Europe must stop buying all Russian LNG, whether delivered to Europe on ships or bought on LNG spot markets or anywhere else. No more European money should flow to Russia to fund the ongoing onslaught suffered by Ukrainians every day.”
Multiple press reports in recent weeks have cited draft USA sanctions legislation by Sen. Graham called “bone breaking” for Russia, but this bill has yet to move forward despite having an incredible 81 co-sponsoring Senators. Similarly, in Europe, there have been widespread calls to finally end the purchase of Russian LNG gas and fully end the possibility of restarting the Russian Nord Stream pipeline, yet these concrete actions have not been taken. Razom We Stand calls for the urgent passing of Sen. Graham’s bill in the USA, and for Europe to ban a Nord Stream restart.
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Research Background:
Findings cited above are from a sociological survey conducted by Active Group on May 26, 2025, using the SunFlower Sociology online panel. Further results revealed opinions that Ukrainians believe the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia, 40.0% of respondents in May 2025 considered them “rather ineffective,” and another 28.1% – “not at all effective.” The overall share of pessimistic assessments reached 68.1%, which is one of the highest rates over the entire period of observation. For comparison, in February 2023, the number was only 41.3%. Instead, those who consider the sanctions to be effective (“definitely” or “rather effective”) now account for only 26.6%, down from 51.5% in early 2023.
The study was conducted by Active Group using the SunFlower Sociology online panel. Method: Self-completion of questionnaires by Ukrainian citizens aged 18 and older. Sample: 800 questionnaires (representative by age, gender and region of Ukraine). Data collection period: May 24, 2025.
Notes:
Razom We Stand is a Ukraine-based campaign group active internationally. It calls for a total and permanent embargo on Russian fossil fuels and an immediate end to all investment in Russian oil and gas companies by phasing out fossil fuels globally.
Dr. Romanko has been featured in the Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, Der Spiegel, Le Monde, The Guardian, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Newsweek, The Hill, Rolling Stone, and more.
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