‘Go home’: Zelenskyy demands tougher sanctions on Russians living in West while keeping Moscow ties

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Ukraine’s allies to impose full sanctions on Russian nuclear energy and on Russians buying properties and studying in the West.

Speaking to Politico at the Munich Security Conference, the Ukrainian president said Donald Trump had made “strong steps” with sanctions on major Russian oil companies such as Rosneft and Lukoil.

But he said Kyiv’s US and EU partners should go further with “total sanctions” on Russian nuclear energy, and questioned why Russian citizens, particularly those connected to nuclear energy company Rosatom, were able to reside, study and own property in Western countries.

In a post to X this morning, Zelenskyy repeated his message, saying: “Europeans have done a lot. But they haven’t yet sanctioned Russian nuclear energy, Rosatom, the persons and their relatives, their children, who live off their money in Europe, in the United States, who pay with these profits for their education at European universities, who own real estate in the United States. A lot of real estate. 

“They financially support children and relatives everywhere. F*** away to Russia. Go home. You don’t respect anybody in the United States. You don’t respect the rules. You don’t respect democracy. You don’t respect Ukraine or Europe. Go home.”