Kostiantyn Zhevago considers sanctions imposed on him illegal - businessman's press service

“These sanctions are absolutely illegal and have no legal basis. This is yet another episode of political persecution of me by President Zelenskyy,” said Zhevago in his video message.

He emphasized that there is no court decision against him that would confirm a threat to the national security, territorial integrity or sovereignty of Ukraine. “The question arises: if there is no court decision regarding threats to national security from my side, why are sanctions being imposed for the same thing? It is absurd!” added Zhevago.

Kostiantyn Zhevago actively supports the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Through the Zhevago Family Charitable Foundation and the companies where he and his family are shareholders, the needs of our defenders have already been funded to the tune of billions of hryvnias.

“Judging by the decision on sanctions, my support for the Armed Forces is recognized as a threat to national security. I have been banned from defense procurement, which actually means a ban on supplying aid to our military. The Zhevago Family Foundation has repeatedly received gratitude from military units, including the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine in early 2025,” said Zhevago.

He is also being persecuted for his support of independent media in Ukraine. According to Zhevago, free media is not needed in countries with authoritarian tendencies. “And I am sad to realize that they want to turn Ukraine into such a country,” he added.

In October 2018, Russia, represented by then-President Medvedev, imposed personal sanctions on Konstantin Zhevago for threatening the national security of Russia. In 2025, the President of Ukraine joined this list. “That is, I have become an enemy for both Russia and Ukraine, although it is obvious that this is impossible,” Zhevago emphasized.

Another absurd accusation concerns AvtoKrAZ. The authorities claim that it exported trucks to Russia. However, this is absolutely untrue, as AvtoKrAZ has been under Russian sanctions since October 2018, and, accordingly, it is impossible to export to a country that has imposed sanctions on the company.

“I am also accused of cooperating with Russia by Ferrexpo Group, in which I and my family members are shareholders. This is absolute nonsense. Ferrexpo is the only publicly traded company with assets in Ukraine, in which its owners have invested billions of US dollars, and is listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange and is a member of the FTSE 250 index, and its shareholders also include international investment companies such as BlackRock and UBS, international sovereign wealth funds, including the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, as well as thousands of US, EU and UK citizens. Accusing a company of threatening national security is effectively tantamount to accusing these global giants of terrorism as well. Everyone should ask why sanctions are being imposed on me, but not on these international giants who are shareholders like me? Why such double standards? Of course, this is more of a PR issue than a rule of law issue,” said Zhevago. 

In addition, Ferrexpo was also included in the sanctions list of the Russian Federation along with AvtoKrAZ in October 2018. 

Over the past five and a half years of President Zelenskyy's rule, a large number of completely far-fetched criminal cases have been opened against Zhevago, none of which have been brought to court. “My lawyers have repeatedly appealed to law enforcement agencies and the prosecutor's office to bring the cases to court for consideration. However, this has not been done, as the prosecution by the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine has nothing to do with any real crimes, but is politically motivated pressure because of my civil and political position and my beliefs,” said Zhevago. 

Despite the fact that all the cases against Kostiantyn Zhevago, which were illegally filed in courts in the EU and the UK by Ukrainian authorities and on which hundreds of millions of hryvnias of public funds (which could have been spent on the Armed Forces) were illegally spent, were lost by the Ukrainian authorities. This is simply because in the EU and the UK, the rule of law is a fundamental value that the courts and the entire system of government stand to protect. 

The European community cannot accept a country where there is no rule of law and where media freedom is under threat. European integration is impossible without adherence to European values.

“I declare my categorical disagreement with the decision and consider such actions of the authorities to be a public disgrace,” added Kostiantyn Zhevago. 

• On February 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy enacted the decision of the National Security and Defense Council to impose sanctions on several people. This is stated in a decree published on the website of the President's Office. According to the register of sanctions actions, the following people are subject to restrictions: the fifth President Petro Poroshenko, businessman and philanthropist Kostiantyn Zhevago, co-founders and former shareholders of Privatbank Hennadiy Boholyubov and Ihor Kolomoisky, and former MP Viktor Medvedchuk.

• The sanctions include stripping of state awards, asset freezes, restrictions on trade, a ban on land acquisition, and termination of agreements, including those in the security and defense sector.