On Tuesday, the European Union’s executive suggested fresh penalties against Russia, including a ban on coal imports, in response to proof of civilian fatalities in a Ukrainian town seized by Russian invaders.
The proposed penalties, which must be approved by EU member states, would prohibit Russian imports worth 9 billion euros and exports to Russia worth 10 billion euros, including semiconductors and computers, as well as Russian ships from accessing EU ports.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, stated that the EU is also working on a ban on oil imports.
‘We’ve all seen the graphic images from Bucha and other areas where Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not go unpunished,’ she wrote on Twitter
The announcement came only hours after Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko called for the severance of all economic relations with Russia in order to stem the flow of ‘bloody money.’
Since the Russian onslaught switched from northern Ukraine to the south and east, terrible photographs of a mass grave and bound bodies of individuals shot at close range have emerged from the town of Bucha near Kyiv, spurring calls for greater action against Moscow and an international probe.
Several European countries, notably Germany, France, and Italy, have announced the expulsion of Russian diplomats, and Moscow has stated that it will reciprocate.
Russia, which claims to have initiated a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine on February 24 to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ its neighbour, denies targeting civilians and claims the killings were fabricated by the West to discredit it.
Sanctions have isolated and hampered Russia’s economy, but Ukraine contends that the West must do much more to starve Moscow’s war machine.
‘Every euro, every cent you receive from Russia or transfer to Russia has blood, it is bloody money, and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people,’ Klitschko said via video link to a meeting in Geneva.
Europe, which imports around one-third of its natural gas from Russia, has been sceptical of the economic consequences of a comprehensive ban on Russian energy, which Ukraine claims is required to compel a peace settlement. more info
The European Union’s 27-nation ban on Russian coal would cost roughly 4 billion euros per year, according to von der Leyen, a pittance in compared to Russia’s 100 billion euros in oil and gas imports last year.
However, as a sign of the EU’s growing commitment, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated that the coal prohibition was the first step toward a blanket ban on all Russian fossil fuel imports.
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, the US is also expected to slap additional sanctions on Russia.
He called US President Joe Biden’s comment that Putin should be punished for war crimes ‘unacceptable and worthless.’ more info
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said his country, which accuses Russia of genocide, had no choice but to negotiate an end to the war, which has killed thousands, driven millions from their homes, and reduced towns to rubble.
‘Even the potential of negotiations will be perceived as a challenge by all of us, including myself,’ Zelenskiy said in a televised interview. He stated that he did not know whether he and Putin would speak directly.
According to the Russian news agency Interfax, a deputy Russian foreign minister stated that negotiations, which were last held on Friday, were ongoing via video link.
According to Zelenskiy, at least 300 civilians have been slain in Bucha, and many more are expected to be found in neighbouring regions. He has stated that he will address the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday in order to garner support for an investigation into the killings.
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