Anniversary of the start of the war
EU imposes new sanctions on Russia
Vladimir Putin (3rd from left) visits the research and production company Uralvagonzavod (Ural Waggon Plant). photo
© Office of the Russian President/APA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
February 24th marks the second anniversary of the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EU wants to demonstrate that it will never accept aggression. Will new sanctions work?
Most recently, the EU also used this instrument to target companies based in Hong Kong, Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates and which are said to be involved in circumventing EU punitive measures. The new measures are intended, among other things, to affect companies based in Turkey and China and, above all, to target procurement networks for drone parts.
Von der Leyen: Degrading the war machine
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she welcomed the agreement on what is now the 13th sanctions package against Russia. The aim is to further degrade President Vladimir Putin’s war machine. The pressure on the Kremlin is being kept high with punitive measures against around 2,000 people and organizations. In addition, Russia’s access to drones is being further restricted.
The agreement between the representatives of the member states must now be formalized in a written procedure, as the Belgian EU Council Presidency announced. The list of additionally affected people and companies will then be published in the EU Official Journal by the anniversary of the start of the war this Saturday. The sanctions package is seen as a symbol of the anniversary because it does not contain any new, far-reaching economic sanctions.
Three-digit number of people and organizations
According to information from the German Press Agency, the new measures will affect a total of around 200 people, companies and organizations. Listed persons are not only affected by asset freezes. Business is no longer allowed to be done with them and they are no longer allowed to enter the EU. This should happen by the anniversary this Saturday.
The last EU sanctions package against Russia to date included, among other things, the ban on importing diamonds and diamond jewelry from Russia into the European Union. There has long been a far-reaching import ban on crude oil, coal, steel, gold and luxury goods, as well as punitive measures against banks and financial institutions.
Use of Russian central bank funds planned
EU officials in Brussels also point out that it was only recently decided to confiscate proceeds from the custody of frozen Russian central bank funds for Ukraine. The agreed procedure envisages, as a first step, ensuring that the extraordinary income from the custody of assets of the Russian Central Bank is kept separately. In a second step, it is planned to forward part of the funds to Ukraine. However, further legal texts still need to be developed for this.
According to estimates, a sum in the billions could be incurred every year, since, according to the Commission, more than 210 billion euros from the Russian central bank have been frozen in the EU and the income from the custody of the capital is constantly increasing.