KIEV, Aug. 15 – Russia’s ban on exports from Ukraine will have “very serious” ramifications if found to be politically motivated to stop Kiev’s integration with the European Union, a senior European official said Thursday.

“Is Russia starting a silent trade war against Ukraine to block its relations with the EU?” Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt tweeted on Thursday. “Would be very serious.”

Ukraine’s exports to Russia, its biggest market, ground to a halt on Wednesday after Moscow suddenly listed all the country’s exporters as posing an unspecified risk.

Ukrainian politicians said the hostile move was aimed at forcing Kiev to change its foreign policy to scrap plans for European integration to join a Moscow-led trade bloc, known as the Customs Union.

The developments come ahead of an EU-Ukraine summit in November where the parties may sign a political association and free trade agreement should Kiev improve its record with democracy.

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, in his first comments on the trade ban, admitted the problem had affected many exports, but urged for calm reaction to focus on talks with Russia.

“There are certain difficulties associated primarily, we believe, with the creation, structuring and formalization of the Customs Union,” Azarov said. “There are differences in approach.”

He called on media to avoid “artificially inflating and artificially exaggerating the problem.”

The ban comes as Moscow failed to formally inform the Ukrainian government of any concerns or measures to be taken.

“As of today there are no papers indicating the Ukrainian exporters have violated legislation of either the Customs Union or the Russian Federation,” Valeriy Muntian, the government’s point man on Russia and the CIS. “Russia has not provided any papers.”

Ukraine’s largest coal mining and steel company, Metinvest, which is a major exporter of large-diameter steel pipes to Gazprom, said Wednesday it was one of the targets.

The Russian customs service stopped Metinvest’s shipments demanding all cargo must be unloaded and checked by the service, with some samples to be sent to Moscow for further inspection that may take two months.

Russian President Vladimir Putin last month visited Kiev and told his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor Yanukovych that Ukraine should join the Customs Union in order to stay competitive globally.

He earlier warned of unspecified trade problems for Ukrainian companies if Kiev decides to go ahead for the integration with the EU.

“This is an attempt to force marriage by rape,” Anatoliy Hrytsenko, a former Ukrainian defense minister and an opposition lawmaker, said. “This is a short-sighted policy that is far from being a strategic partnership, far from any partnership.”

“If this is how the Kremlin wants to force Ukraine to join the Customs Union, it can get quite the opposite result: alienate even those in Ukraine who treated the Customs Union favorably.”

Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, whose pro-Western policy in 2005-2010 was punished by Moscow by three natural gas supply cutoffs, said the latest trade ban was aimed at undermining the sovereignty of Ukraine.

“This goal of the Kremlin is an unprecedented threat and should immediately unite all Ukrainian politicians in order to overcome it,” Yushchenko said.

Russian officials did not comment on the export ban, but Russian bloggers said the move was a punishment for Ukraine’s pro-European policy.

“We are building a Common Market with Belarus and Kazakhstan, similar to the EU,” blogger Rossijskij wrote. “You have been invited to join and collaborate as equal among equals, but your bosses said NO and selected a sump for geo-prostitutes, known as the Eastern Partnership.”

“Well, good luck. We have the right to defend our interests, our yet fledgling Common Market by any means. Game over,” Rossijskij wrote.

“So the pro-Western prostitute Ukraine can now beseech to its owners in NATO, the EU and the US, but that will not have much influence on our actions. We will be hard to promote the interests of our market.

“Yes, it hurts to cut through what used to be a common space. But there is no choice. Ukraine has become a cancer on the body of our once single space. So no hard feelings,” Rossijskij wrote.

An argument like that can hardly increase pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine.

“Vladimir Putin is the main factor that works towards strengthening of the European integration sentiment in Ukraine,” Hrytsenko said. (tl/ez)