Day 44: EU slaps new sanctions on Russia, including coal embargo
Iran Press TV
Friday, 08 April 2022 5:56 AM
European Union countries on Thursday agreed to impose a coal embargo on Russia as part of the fifth round of sanctions against the country over its military operation in Ukraine.
The package of "very substantial" sanctions was approved by the bloc's committee of permanent representatives, the French EU Council presidency said in a tweet.
That package also includes a 10 billion euro ($10.9 billion) ban on exports to Russia, including high-tech goods, freezing of several Russian banks' assets, and the closure of EU ports to Russian-flagged ships.
It also encompasses sanctions against Russian energy with a coal embargo estimated to be worth €4 billion per year. EU countries, heavily dependent on Russian energy, had so far been unsure about going ahead with an energy embargo.
In addition to sanctions, the EU also backed a proposal to boost its funding of arms supplies to Ukraine by 500 million Euros, taking it to a total of 1.5 billion Euros.
"This very substantial package extends the sanctions against Russia to new areas and provides in particular, sanctions against oligarchs, Russian propaganda actors, members of the security and military apparatus, and entities in the industrial and technological sector linked to Russian aggression against Ukraine," the French EU Council presidency said in a statement.
European Council President Charles Michel in a Twitter post said the package would be "swiftly approved".
"Once swiftly approved this will bring to 1.5 billion Euros the EU support already provided for military equipment for Ukraine," he wrote, thanking EU's diplomatic chief Josep Borrell for proposing extra funding.
Earlier, during a debate in the European Parliament, Michel asserted that sanctions on Russian oil and gas were likely to be pressed eventually.
"We must close the loopholes. We must target any attempt to circumvent sanctions and we are ready to move quickly," he said on Wednesday.
"We have further coordinated robust sanctions. The new package includes a ban on coal imports. And ladies and gentlemen, I think that measures on oil and even gas will also be needed sooner or later."
The EU has already agreed on a 1 billion Euros package to supply arms for Kiev, which has been seen as a provocative move in Moscow.
"This may seem like a lot, but one billion Euros is what we pay [Russian President Vladimir] Putin every day for the energy he provides us," Borrell said on Wednesday.
The EU nations import 45 percent of their coal from Russia, which makes the evolving situation unfavorable for them.
The embargo will come into force at the beginning of August, 120 days after the publication of the new package in the EU's official journal, which is expected on Friday.
The list of Russian products banned from the EU is also being extended to include certain "critical raw materials and equipment" worth an estimated 5.5 billion Euros a year.
The escalation between the West and Moscow comes following the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, which Kiev and its Western allies blamed on Russian forces.
Kiev on Sunday urged Western powers to impose crippling fresh sanctions on Moscow over what it called a "massacre" in Bucha, a newly liberated town 37 kilometers northwest of the capital.
In a video message, the mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk, claimed that 300 people had been killed by the Russian army with some appearing to have been bound by their hands and feet before being shot.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his daily nighttime video address to the country on Tuesday, said he had discussed a new round of sanctions against Russia in the wake of the Bucha killings.
"After what the world saw in Bucha, the sanctions against Russia must be commensurate with the gravity of the war crimes committed by the occupiers," he said.
Russia, however, dismissed the accusations that it carried out a civilian massacre in Bucha, terming it a "monstrous forgery" staged by the West to discredit it.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday accused the West of seeking to sabotage ongoing peace talks between Moscow and Kiev by fueling "hysteria" over the alleged mass killings in Bucha.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a Twitter post on Thursday affirmed that the G7 leaders are "firmly standing together in support of Ukraine, taking further steps to sanction Russia."
She said "Bucha atrocities" will be "investigated and those responsible brought to justice", while adding that Russia "faces a long descent into economic, financial & technological isolation."
Germany's chancellor Olaf Scholz in his remarks on Thursday said his country will need to use the full four-month phase-out period to implement a ban on Russian coal under European Union sanctions.
Germany has so far been reluctant to join the countries banning Russian energy over fears that it would plunge the European country into a major energy crisis.
"If it's faster, that's good. But we will need some time, and the companies will need it as well, though they have been looking for new suppliers for a while already," Scholz noted.
Ukraine has received about 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons systems from the United States and its allies, the top US general said, and Washington is looking into what new support it could send.
In a video address posted on YouTube, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov made a plea for heavier, more modern weapons as Russia mobilized its forces for a powerful attack.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's government in Kiev says "starving Moscow's war machine" is the only way to bring it to a settlement at on-and-off peace talks.
On Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a draft peace deal from Kiev contained "unacceptable" elements and deviated from previously agreed on proposals.
Meanwhile, Japan also plans to reduce Russian coal imports gradually while looking for alternative suppliers in the wake of Western sanctions against Moscow, the country's industry minister said on Friday.
"We would need to find alternative suppliers or we would face difficulties securing domestic coal which could lead to a power outage and such. We need to avoid such a situation," said minister Koichi Hagiudam.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Thursday that Tokyo will unveil further sanctions against Russia for its military operation in Ukraine as early as Friday after coordinating with G7 allies.
Earlier this week, the US government rolled out fresh sanctions on Russian officials and entities, amid rapidly worsening relations between the two countries.
Citing "atrocities" in the former Soviet republic, Washington slapped sanctions against Russian banks, companies, and government officials - including their family members.
"Today, the United States, with the G7 and the European Union, will continue to impose severe and immediate economic costs on the Putin regime for its atrocities in Ukraine, including in Bucha. We will document and share information on these atrocities and use all appropriate mechanisms to hold accountable those responsible," the White House said in a statement.
Among those targeted in the latest round of "full blocking sanctions" include President Vladimir Putin's "adult children" and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's wife and daughter.
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and former President Dmitry Medvedev have also been sanctioned for their role on the Russian Security Council.
The statement said any assets of Sberbank and Alfa Bank "touching" the US financial system would be blocked, and Americans would be banned from doing business with them.
On Thursday, it blacklisted two Russian state-owned enterprises, United Shipbuilding Corp and the Alrosa diamond mining company, denying them access to the US financial system.
It came after Zelensky said the situation in the town of Borodyanka was "significantly more dreadful" than in nearby Bucha. The town is about 25 km from Bucha.
"The work to clear the rubble in Borodyanka has begun ... It's significantly more dreadful there. Even more victims from the Russian occupiers," he said in a video posted on Telegram.
He did not provide any further detail or evidence that Russia was responsible for civilian deaths in the town.
"And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol?" Zelensky asked.
"There, on almost every street, is what the world saw in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian troops."
Moscow has twice requested an urgent session of the United Nations Security Council over the Bucha situation, but the United Kingdom has refused to hold the meeting both times.
Western countries, led by the US, have slapped unprecedented sanctions on Russia since Putin announced a military operation in Ukraine on February 24 to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" it.
Delegations from Kiev and Moscow have been negotiating for peace and a ceasefire in recent weeks, but the breakthrough has been eluding.
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