After accusing certain countries of still prioritising money over punishment for civilian fatalities that the West condemns as war crimes, Ukraine wants penalties that are economically damaging enough for Russia to cease its invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his daily video address on Thursday that the democratic world must reject Russian oil and entirely isolate Russian banks from the international financial system.
After photographs of dead civilians in Bucha’s streets drew international outrage, Zelenskiy said that Kremlin forces were attempting to conceal proof of atrocities.
‘We have information that the Russian military has changed tactics and is attempting to remove people who have been slain from streets and basements… this is simply an attempt to hide the facts and nothing more,’ Zelenskiy added, without providing evidence.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians, claiming that photographs of bodies in Bucha were faked to justify increased sanctions and undermine peace talks.
Russia’s six-week invasion has displaced nearly 4 million people, killed or injured thousands, displaced a fifth of the population, razed cities, and sparked a series of Western sanctions against Russian oligarchs and the economy.
On Wednesday, Washington announced penalties against President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters as well as Russia’s Sberbank, as well as a ban on American investment in Russia.
The US also wants Russia kicked out of the Group of 20 major economies and has threatened to boycott a number of G20 meetings in Indonesia if Russian officials attend.
But Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said late on Wednesday that the country’s allies must go further.
‘Sanctions against Russia must be crippling enough to bring this horrible war to a stop,’ he said.
‘My goal is to impose a ban on the export of technology, equipment, minerals and ores (as well as rare earth dual-use minerals) to Russia, halting the country’s weapons development.’
Some in the West had previously been chastised by Zelenskiy.
‘The only thing we’re missing is some leaders’ principled stance… who still believe that war and war crimes aren’t as horrible as financial losses,’ he told Irish MPs.
On Wednesday, European Union diplomats failed to agree new penalties due to technical difficulties, including whether a coal ban would affect existing contracts, according to sources.
Hungary, a member of the European Union, said it was willing to comply with a Russian request to pay in roubles for its gas, breaking with the rest of the bloc and emphasising the continent’s reliance on imports, which has kept it from taking harder measures against the Kremlin.
The killings in Bucha have been condemned as war crimes by Western authorities, and Ukrainian officials claim a mass grave near a church there contains between 150 and 300 victims.
Russia claims to be conducting a ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine to demilitarise and ‘denazify’ the country. Ukraine and Western countries reject this as a ruse for invading the country.
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