The atrocities against civilians in the Kyiv region shock the world. New Western sanctions against Russia are expected to come soon. The discussion about an immediate energy embargo is also coming back into focus.
Bodies on the streets, burned-out cars, soot-blackened houses without any residents: the horror at the pictures from Bucha – a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv – is still great. Hundreds of bodies were discovered there over the weekend after the Russian troops withdrew. Some lay on the street with their hands tied. The newspaper “Ukrajinska Pravda”, citing a funeral service, reported that 330 to 340 lifeless bodies had been collected by Sunday evening. Fatalities were also discovered in other communities around Kiev.
Ukraine blames Russian troops, who withdrew a few days ago, for the massacre in Bucha. Moscow denies this and speaks of “fake”. More than 280 dead have already been buried in a mass grave.
Anton Hofreiter calls for an energy embargo
After these war atrocities, the West wants to impose even tougher sanctions on Russia. In addition to the EU, the group of seven leading industrial nations (G7), of which Germany currently chairs, is also involved. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) indicated that the new penalties will come into force this week.
The new sanctions package – now the fifth – could include measures “in the whole range of personal sanctions against other people from the Putin regime over technical goods,” said the Green politician on ZDF. “We will also look at the financial market again.”
The Bucha horror: the brutal reality of war
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His party colleague Anton Hofreiter has called for a freeze on German energy imports from Russia. Although this is difficult to implement, it is still possible, said Hofreiter on Monday morning on Deutschlandfunk. The FDP youth organization Junge Liberale also called on the federal government to impose an “as soon as possible energy embargo” on Russia after the atrocities in Bucha.
Federal government against immediate embargo – but for more weapons
Germany must bring itself to impose an energy embargo on Russia, “no matter how difficult it may be,” Hofreiter said. He pointed out that “the Putin regime has been subsidized with hundreds of millions of euros a day” from Germany so far. Therefore, the impression is currently being created that Germany is co-financing the Russian war against Ukraine by the country continuing to buy gas and oil from Russia, Hofreiter criticized. In order to compensate for supply gaps when imports come to an end, the Green politician called for savings in various areas.
To support the Ukrainian defense against the Russian war of aggression, Hofreiter also pushed for greater military support to the country through additional arms supplies from Germany.
However, the federal government again rejected an immediate embargo on Russian energy. When asked whether such a step was out of the question, regardless of what Russian President Vladimir Putin did, Economics Minister Robert Habeck said in Berlin on Monday: “We’re working on independence from Russian oil and from coal and gas.” Germany has largely stopped oil and gas production and decided against other suppliers and energy terminals. “We’re going to rebuild everything and turn it around,” said Habeck. In this respect, there are steps towards an embargo every day.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil also spoke out against an embargo. “We’re just turning off the gas tap a little more every day,” said Klingbeil. In the event of a stop from one day to the next, “we have to talk about the consequences that this would have for us in Germany, despite all the brutality of these pictures and all the emotionality that I also have.” It’s also about social cohesion.
“Harm Russia and not us”
“We are pursuing a strategy of making ourselves independent of Russian gas, coal and oil, just not immediately,” said the Green politician Habeck. The next steps are to “not expose Russian ownership of German energy infrastructure – Gazprom or Rosneft – to Russian arbitrariness”. Habeck reiterated that Germany would be free of Russian supplies of coal by the end of the summer and free of Russian oil by the end of the year.
When it comes to gas, however, the situation is more complicated. According to the ministry, the share of Russian gas deliveries has already fallen from 55 to 40 percent. By the summer of 2024, it could be possible to become independent of Russian gas, apart from a few shares. But that also depends on the pace of the expansion of renewable energies in Germany – and on a reduction in consumption.
Development Minister Svenja Schulze (SPD) told the broadcasters RTL and ntv that the sanctions should “above all harm Russia and not us”. A quick exit would have huge consequences for important sectors such as chemicals and steel.
Austria also rejects an immediate embargo on Russian energy. Austria stands 100 percent with Germany on the issue, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner said before a meeting of the Eurogroup on Monday. Sanctions only make sense if they don’t hit you any more than the person who is to be hit. You have to keep a cool head, especially with a gas embargo, said Brunner.
Bank President Christian Sewing expects the economy to collapse if imports of energy from Russia are stopped. “Emotionally, you can understand any demand for an embargo,” he said in a video link. “If that were to happen, there is a high probability that the German economy and probably also the European economy would fall into recession with long-term consequences.”
EU wants to prepare further sanctions
Habeck also announced his support for further arms deliveries without restrictions and a new package of sanctions. “The supply of military equipment and weapons should, in my view, continue unrestricted and on a large scale,” he said. “Always with the limit that we are not allowed to become a party to the war ourselves.” Germany had entered into an obligation to supply arms. “This commitment must not break.” This applies without restriction to the export licenses to be issued by his company.
The European Union also wants to impose new sanctions on Russia as quickly as possible. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned “in the strongest possible terms the atrocities reportedly committed by Russian forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian cities” in Brussels on Monday. The EU will therefore “urgently work on further sanctions against Russia,” Borrell said. According to Brussels diplomats, the EU Commission intends to make a proposal for stricter penalties shortly.
Macron: Hold Russia accountable before international justice
French President Emmanuel Macron even went a step further and called for Russia to be held accountable for war crimes before international justice. “It is clear that today there are very clear indications of war crimes. It was the Russian army that was in Bucha,” Macron told radio station France Inter on Monday. He also offered to help with the investigation. At the same time, Macron called for new sanctions against Russia. In order to hold those responsible to account, the EU is also supporting Ukraine in its investigations into possible war crimes, as well as the International Criminal Court in The Hague and the UN.
France will coordinate with its EU partners and especially with Germany in the coming days. Macron brought up punitive measures against Russia’s coal and oil industries and sanctions against individuals.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba does not have high hopes for the tightened EU sanctions against Russia that have been announced for the next few days. He already knows the current drafts for the planned fifth package of punitive measures. Therefore, he can predict that they will not be enough, he said in a video message published on Twitter on Sunday. In particular, an oil, gas and coal embargo against Russia, an exclusion of all Russian banks from the bank communication network Swift and a closure of all ports for Russian ships and goods are now necessary. This demand is also aimed at the economic powers of the G7.
Kuleba also said that given the atrocities committed against residents of the Ukrainian city of Bucha, there can now be no excuses or hesitations about supplying arms to his country. “We need weapons – now!” he said, especially aircraft, tanks and heavy anti-aircraft systems.