Ukraine Targets Crypto Wallets of Russian Politicians

The war situation between Ukraine and Russia has not shown any signs of cooling down, but recently, Ukraine has opened a new front when it wants to attack the electronic wallets of Russian politicians.

As individuals and organizations in Russia use cryptocurrencies to circumvent sanctions, authorities in Kiev have issued a media appeal to receive information about crypto wallets. controlled by politicians in Russia and Belarus. On Saturday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Twitter that it would reward those who provide details about the active e-wallets of Russian politicians. The rewards will be funded by private donations. The plan of the Ukrainian government is to share the information received with blockchain exchanges and legal firms to apply sanctions.

Some trading platforms have imposed restrictions on users based in the Russian Federation. Ukrainian crypto exchange Kuna told Forklog that it has deleted the Russian ruble and refuses to deposit and withdraw funds. Whitebit refuses new registrations from Russia while Cex.io does not accept or serve customers from Russia, Belarus.

The government in Kiev has urged stronger sanctions against Moscow in the face of a strong onslaught of Russian military forces.
The initiative to blacklist wallets owned by Russian politicians comes as Ukraine itself uses cryptocurrency to fund its defense efforts. Since the start of the invasion, the country has raised nearly $30 million in cryptocurrency.

Meanwhile, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, the European Commission and several EU member states – France, Germany and Italy – have announced their commitment to remove Russian financial institutions from service. SWIFT interbank payment.

The tightening of Western sanctions, aimed at isolating Russia from global finance, has raised concerns among analysts that Moscow may turn to cryptocurrencies to get out of the country. Penalties are increasing.