Key takeaways:

• On 14 August 2014, the Ukrainian Parliament adopted legislation creating a legal framework for the imposition of sanctions on countries, foreign individuals and foreign entities, including the authorisation of over 20 subject specific measures.
• Although no sanctions have yet been passed on individual entities, we have received a number of queries from multinationals with business interests in Ukraine that could in due course be directly or indirectly affected by sanctions introduced under the legislation.
• Affected entities with Ukrainian-based investments may have some recourse through a number of bilateral or multilateral investment treaties entered into between Ukraine and those investors’ home states, in particular the Russia-Ukraine Bilateral Investment Treaty, which permits investors to elect to arbitrate claims of undue expropriation before international tribunals. Other rights of action under international conventions are also outlined.