Speaking to Radio Sputnik, economist Nikita Maslennikov warned that the sanctions will only end up harming Ukraine's own economy, and could cause an irreversible domino effect.

On Thursday, President Petro Poroshenko approved sanctions against the subsidiaries of 5 Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB, BM-Bank (owned by VTB Group), Prominvestbank (a Vnesheconombank subsidiary) and VS Bank (a subsidiary of Sberbank).

The sanctions come after days of protests by nationalist radicals in front of the branches of Russian-owned banks, including at the entrance to Sberbank Ukraine's central Kiev office. 400 employees were trapped inside the bank on Monday, with protesters continuing to hinder access to the bank the following day. Sberbank and other Russian banks have also been subjected to vandalism by the radicals.