KIEV, September 10 (RAPSI) – President Petro Poroshenko has signed a law on sanctions, the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada (parliament) announced on its website on Wednesday.

“The law aims to protect the national interests, national security, sovereignty, territorial integrity and economic independence of Ukraine, to preclude any violations and to restore the violated rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the Ukrainian citizens, society and state,” reads the explanatory note to the law.

Under the law, sanctions against foreign nationals, foreign legal entities and legal entities controlled by nonresident companies or foreign nationals will be approved by decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) and will become effective after the president signs an executive order.

Sanctions imposed against a foreign state or an unlimited group of individuals engaged in a certain economic sphere (sectoral sanctions) will become effective after their approval by the Verkhovna Rada, which must adopt a decision within 48 hours of receiving the NSDC document signed by the president.

The law sets out over 20 types of sanctions, including a ban on the transit of energy resources via Ukraine and increased financing of the forces involved in special operations.

The bill was amended during a hearing on August 14 to rule out sanctions against the media and a ban on postal services and distribution of print materials.

A special operation was launched in mid-April to suppress the self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine, who do not recognize the legitimacy of the Kiev authorities that came to power as a result of a regime change on February 22.

More than four months later, a contact group consisting of Kiev officials and representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, Russia and the OSCE agreed to a ceasefire during a meeting held behind closed doors in Belarus last week.

The ceasefire became effective on Friday, September 5.