Sanctions coordinators from 20 partner countries and the European Union gathered in Kyiv to discuss ways to strengthen pressure on the Russian economy. The two-day NB8++ forum brought together experts to coordinate efforts on export controls, energy sanctions, countering the shadow fleet, and closing cryptocurrency loopholes.
NB8++ is an expanded regional cooperation format that brings together the Nordic-Baltic Eight (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden) along with four partner countries — the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The format focuses on security, energy cooperation, countering hybrid threats, and supporting Ukraine.
The summit was organized by the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and sanctions coordinators from Denmark, with support from the KSE Center for Geoeconomics and Strategy. This marks the first-ever sanctions summit held directly in Ukraine.
The first day of the forum featured strategic discussions on synchronizing sanctions regimes, tightening financial restrictions, and tracking critical components that Russia continues to obtain through illicit channels.
The second day, hosted at the Kyiv School of Economics, focused on export controls, critical technologies, customs flows, and energy sanctions. A dedicated session brought together foreign guests with Ukrainian think tanks and civil society organizations working on sanctions policy.
The Independent Anti-Corruption Commission was represented at the summit by Senior Researcher Viktoriia Vyshnivska and Junior Analyst Marta-Maria Kharynovych.
“The sanctions coalition is much broader than intergovernmental dialogue alone. It includes Ukrainian civil society organizations as well as an entire network of partners from other countries. All of us are working to make it harder for Russia to wage this war. I am confident that this platform will give new momentum to an even wider dialogue involving as many of Ukraine’s partners as possible,” — said Viktoriia Vyshnivska, NAKO Senior Researcher.
Vladyslav Vlasiuk, Presidential Envoy for Sanctions Policy and summit co-organizer from the Office of the President, summarized the results of the forum: “Every delegation left Kyiv with new ideas, contacts, and motivation. Our intelligence community and civil society also made important contributions to the discussions. A different perspective is always useful. Most importantly — more sanctions are coming.”
Photo: Vladyslav Vlasiuk, KSE