Putin signed a decree on the termination of trade with Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree suspending a free trade agreement with Ukraine with 1 in January, the day on which a similar trade agreement between Kiev and the European Union comes into force.

Speaking in Brussels, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko acknowledged that Russia's decision would "harm" his country's economy, but added that he was "willing to pay this price" and continue to work on joining the free trade zone with the European Union.

Putin’s decree suspends the agreement between Russia and Ukraine concluded in 2011 “due to exceptional circumstances affecting the interests and economic security of the Russian Federation”.

"These measures are designed to protect the economic interests of Russia," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, noting the need to protect the Russian market after the free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU came into force.

Moscow has repeatedly expressed concern that, as a result of the entry into force of the agreement between Kiev and Brussels, the Russian market could flood European goods, and the many-month tripartite talks with the EU on smoothing the situation yielded no results.

“Unfortunately, there were no any legally binding agreements reached with Russia,” RIA Novosti quotes Peskov.

According to Poroshenko, Putin’s decision to suspend free trade will not stop Ukraine.

“We are ready to pay such a price for our freedom and our European choice,” he told reporters in Brussels in the presence of EU President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

Previously, Forum reported that Ukraine imposed a ban on transit flights of all Russian airlines without exception in the Ukrainian aviation space.

September 25 The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine expanded the sanctions list against Russia and banned flights of a number of Russian airlines to Ukraine.