Russia’s escalation of Ukraine invasion reaching new levels with referenda organised in the territories that it occupied and President Vladimir Putin’s threat to use nuclear weapons, the European Union (EU) has proposed eight new batches of sanctions against the country.
“We do not accept the sham referenda nor any kind of annexation in Ukraine. And we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation. So today, we are together proposing a new package of biting sanctions against Russia,” said EU President von der Leyen.
Claiming that the sanctions would further restrict trade, the president said “By that, we isolate and hit Russia’s economy even more. So we propose sweeping new import bans on Russian products. This will keep Russian products out of the European market and deprive Russia of an additional EUR 7 billion in revenues. We are also proposing to extend the list of products that cannot be exported to Russia anymore. The aim is here to deprive the Kremlin’s military complex of key technologies.”
RUSSIA; RESTRICTIONS
Leyen said the EU proposed new import bans on Russian products that would keep its products out of the European market and deprive Russia of an additional EUR 7 billion in revenues. They also propose to ban additional aviation items, or electronic components and specific chemical substances to Russia to deprive the Kremlin’s military complex of key technologies. “We will also propose additional bans on providing European services to Russia, and a prohibition for EU nationals to sit on governing bodies of Russian state-owned enterprises. Russia should not benefit from European knowledge and expertise,” she said.
On the new ban related to Russian oil, the president said “you might recall that we have already agreed to ban seaborne Russian crude oil in the European Union as of 5 December. But we also know that certain developing countries still need some Russian oil supplies, but at low prices. Thus, the G7 has agreed in principle to introduce a price cap on Russian oil for third countries. This oil price cap will help reduce Russia’s revenues on the one hand and it will keep global energy markets stable on the other hand. Today, in this package, here, we are laying the legal basis for this oil price cap. “
The next in line is circumvention of sanctions, she said “we are adding a new category. In this category, we will be able to list individuals if they circumvent our sanctions. So for example, if they buy goods in the European Union, bring them to third countries and then to Russia, this would be a circumvention of our sanctions, and those individuals could be listed.”
RESTRICTIONS; INDIVIDUAL DESIGNATIONS
A new set of restrictions, individual designations will target the following people:
First, those involved in Russia’s occupation and illegal annexation of areas of Ukraine. The EU propose to designate the proxy Russian authorities in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia and other Russian individuals who organised and facilitated the sham “referenda” in these four occupied areas of Ukraine.
Second, the EU propose a number of designations in the defence sector. This includes high-ranking officials of the Russian Ministry of Defence. Those who support the Russian armed forces by providing army equipment and weapons, including missiles and fighter aircraft, and participate in the recruitment of these 300,000 soldiers.
Third, it proposes to continue to target actors who spread disinformation about the war – in particular, those spreading false information and donating funds to Russian occupied areas [of Ukraine].
