"Until yesterday, trade with Russia had to promote changes. Today it already means funding the invasion," the minister posted on Facebook on Friday.

After several months of military buildup which saw Russia amassing some 150,000–200,000 troops near Ukraine's borders, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a military operation against neighboring Ukraine early Thursday morning.

Western countries responded with different sanctions, including restrictions for Russia's financial energy and transport sectors, as well as trade, exports and financial restrictions.

Still, the West has so far been unwilling to cut Russia off the SWIFT global interbank payments system. Some experts say the already announced sanctions for Russia are partial and will have limited impact, adding that any doubts on tighter measures might have to do with the unwillingness to cut trade ties with this country.

Nevertheless, Ukraine is calling on the West to introduce more painful sanctions for Russia as the EU is set to consider additional restrictions for Moscow as part of its third package of sanctions.

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