The European Union is considering a new round of sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its latest wave of attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and is considering sanctioning some 200 individuals, including senior military and political leaders, extending restrictions on the finance sector and Russian exports.
In a message on social networks, EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell announced the proposal for a ninth package of sanctions to respond to Russian attacks in recent weeks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. «(Russian President Vladimir) Putin is escalating the war against Ukraine, he has already used hunger and food as a weapon of war and now he wants to use winter, leaving Ukrainians in the dark and freezing them to death,» denounced the head of European diplomacy criticizing the «inhuman attacks» against Ukrainian infrastructures.
The proposal, unpacked by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in another video, includes expanding the list of sanctioned individuals to add nearly 200 individuals and entities, including the Russian Armed Forces. The individuals include ministers, governors, leaders of Russian political parties and representatives of the Duma.
The sanctions target those responsible for missile attacks against civilian targets, as well as other war crimes such as the kidnapping of Ukrainian children to take them to Russia or the theft of Ukrainian agricultural production, Von der Leyen explained.
In this sense, the EU intends to block Moscow’s access to drones and other unmanned weapons that can be used against civilians in Ukraine and proposes a ban on direct exports to Russia and exports to third countries such as Iran, which has supplied material that Russia uses against the neighboring country. Other economic measures in this ninth package will include the mining sector, including a veto on mining investments in Russia.
On the financial side, this package seeks to strengthen measures against Russian banks, removing three more entities from the SWIFT transaction system and banning transactions by the Russian Regional Development Bank. Meanwhile, to combat Russian propaganda, the EU-27 will have on the table the suspension of broadcasts in Europe of four more channels, after doing the same with Russia Today and Sputnik.
Diplomatic sources explain to Europa Press that the first debate on the new round of sanctions will take place on Friday at the level of ambassadors of the EU-27 and they hope to have an agreement before the summit of EU leaders on December 15 in Brussels.
As defended by the High Representative, the ninth package of sanctions against Russia is «another very tangible proof of the firmness to act in support of Ukraine». «We will continue to increase the pressure on Russia, and we will do so for as long as necessary,» he stressed.
