There is no strong political will in the Ukrainian authorities to solve the problem of the illegal tobacco market,

Publications periodically began to appear in the European press expressing concern about the illegal tobacco market in Ukraine. At the same time, these publications demonstrate a direct connection between Western aid to Ukraine and its inability to fill its own budget, as well as its inability to protect Western countries from counterfeiting and smuggling. RBC-Ukraine reports this.

Thus, Stephen J. Blank, Ph.D., senior researcher at the FPRI Eurasian Program, noted in his article in Eureporter that in 2020 Ukraine overtook China and became the largest source of illegal tobacco in Europe and remains so.

“For Ukraine, the illegal trade in tobacco products has led to revenue losses amounting to as much as 20.5 billion hryvnia (about 480…