Ukraine’s losses from forfeiting the Russian market have totaled about USD 15 bln, which became a serious trial for the country’s economy, Ukraine’s President Pyotr Poroshenko told the parliament.

At the same time, Poroshenko blamed Russia for all the losses Ukraine suffered due to its shift in foreign policy, accroding to Tass.

“When Russia aggressively shut access to its market that became an economic shock for us. This economic aggression caused a sharp decline in the country’s standard of living,” the Ukrainian president said.

“In recent years the volume of our exports to Russia declined fivefold,” he added.

Earlier, according to Poroshenko, one-third of Ukrainian exports went to the Russian market, while now the share of exports to Russia is shrinking rapidly.

“At present the share of Ukrainian exports to Russia is 9% with the tendency for a further decline,” he said.

Kiev continues to search for alternative markets of supply, the president said. According to him, the EU has become the chief alternative to the Russian market, as its share of exports to the EU has already reached 39.2%.