"I congratulate all on the signing of the bill imposing new US sanctions against Russia! As we agreed in Washington, the Congress endorsed it and President Trump signed it. The sanctions are targeting Russia's political Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project. [The sanctions] will be maintained until the eventual liberation of the Ukrainian territory. This reiterates the strategic aspect of US-Ukrainian relations," Poroshenko said in a statement published on his Facebook account.
The new US sanctions boost restrictive measures against Russia, particularly against the Russian energy industry. The new restrictions also counteract the construction of Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, as the United States believes the project threatens the energy security of Ukraine and the European Union.
The Nord Stream 2 project proposes the construction of two gas pipelines from the Russian coast, through the Baltic Sea, and on to a hub in Germany, to total a combined annual gas capacity of 55 billion cubic meters. As the pipeline would not pass through the terrestrial portion of the European Union, it would not be subject to all of the regulations of the EU internal market, under the umbrella of the Third Energy Package.
