Kiev Sanctions on Russian Banks' to Have Boomerang Effect - Ex-Finance Minister

Ukraine's sanctions against Russian banks will result in a "boomerang effect," since they play a significant role in Ukraine's financial system, Alexei Kudrin, a former Russian finance minister and chairman of the Center for Strategic Research, said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko approved the proposal of the National Security and Defense Council to impose one-year sanctions on five subsidiaries of Russian state banks, targeting the Ukrainian branches of Sberbank, VTB, BM-Bank, Prominvestbank and VS Bank.

"Russian banks are playing a significant role for investments, for funding Ukraine's financial system. And such a persecution significantly worsens Ukraine's financial system. They may expect a boomerang effect. I think it is not in Ukraine's interests," Kudrin said.

Kudrin noted that the closure of the banks would promote the image of Ukraine as "unsustainable territory with unprotected rights."

On Monday, Ukrainian radicals blocked the entrance into the central office of Russia's Sberbank in Kiev with over 400 employees locked inside and vandalized the building.