Von der Leyen announces a new package of sanctions against Russia for the anniversary of the war

  • The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, confirms that the tenth package will be ready by February 24

  • Zelenski stresses that new measures are necessary because, in his opinion, the effects of the current ones have been diluted

“Russia is paying a heavy price because our sanctions are eroding its economy, setting it back a generation. The oil price cap is already costing you around 160 million euros a day and we will continue to increase the pressure. With our G7 partners we will introduce an additional price cap for Russian oil (derived) products and by February 24, exactly one year after the invasion began, we aim to have the tenth package of sanctions”. It has been announced from kyiv by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyenin a joint appearance with the president Volodymyr Zelenskyduring his fourth visit to the Ukrainian capital since Russia launched the invasion.

Dressed in his usual military outfit, the Ukrainian president has once again called for a tightening of sanctions against Moscow because they consider that there has been a slowdown. “The common goal of the EU is to reduce Russia’s ability to circumvent sanctions. The sooner this is achieved, the closer we will be to defeating Russia’s aggression.” but “we have noticed that the pace of the sanctions has slowed down a bit & rdquor; while “the (Russian) terrorist state has accelerated its adaptation to the sanctions. It must be fixed & rdquor;, the Ukrainian leader has claimed. The objective in this new The round, as the head of European diplomacy explained to a group of journalists on Thursday, will be to continue cutting the “technological ties” between Russia and the West and to continue exhausting possible targets because “almost everything has already been done,” he explained. Josep Borrell without specifying whether it will affect Russian diamonds and the nuclear sector.

The German has landed in kyiv seconded by about fifteen commissioners to maintain a ‘tête a tête’ between his government team and the one chaired by Zelenski, to talk about the incorporation of Ukraine “in key European programs & rdquor; which, according to the president of the Community Executive, “will give Ukraine benefits similar to those of EU membership in many areas & rdquor ;. The aim is to facilitate as much as possible the integration of the country into the single european market and in key areas such as the economy, trade, customs, energy or the telecommunications sector, given the “long road& rdquor; that still awaits him ahead to meet all the conditions for membership in the club. “The fact that we are meeting here in kyiv is a sign of the enormous work done and our mutual commitment. A year ago, no one could have imagined how quickly Ukraine could move towards the EU. Now they are a candidate country,” he celebrated at the start of the meeting.

fight against corruption

His optimism, however, collides with the prudence of others. “7 months have passed since kyiv got candidate status. Progress on reforms to the rule of law and the fight against corruption need to be credible, effective and transparent for the benefit of all citizens,” recalled the enlargement commissioner, Oliver Varhely. “They are alert and effective in detecting cases of corruption. I also congratulate them for reacting so quickly at the political level to ensure that the fight against corruption is giving tangible results and is intensifying even more,” von der Leyen added at a press conference about the records made this Wednesday in relation to a alleged case of corruption linked to the supply of weapons.

Von der Leyen recalled that the European Union has been with Ukraine since day one because the future of the European continent is written in Ukraine and has promised to continue supporting “in the long term& rdquor; to the country. “What is at stake is freedom. This is a fight of democracies against authoritarian regimes. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin tries to deny the existence of Ukraine, but what he risks is the future of Russia. Our presence in kyiv today gives a very clear signal: the entire European Union is in this with Ukraine for the long term and we will defend Ukraine while defending fundamental rights and respect for international law& rdquor ;.

50,000 million in a year

And for that the most important thing is to guarantee the security and economic development of Ukraine. An objective to which the EU has allocated almost 50,000 million euros since the start of the war and to which it will also continue to contribute in the reconstruction phase. During the appearance, Von der Leyen announced the shipment to kyiv of millions of LED bulbs, equipment to keep the Ukrainian electricity grid running, 2,400 additional generators in addition to the 3,000 already delivered since the start of the war, as well as the possibility of the Ukrainian government participating in the energy platform for the joint purchase of gas.

In addition to imposing more sanctions on Russia, the EU will continue to work to ensure that those responsible for the war are held to account in court. To this end, prosecutors from Ukraine and the European Union are already working together to gather evidence and, as a first step, the EU will establish in The Hague, the headquarters of the International Criminal Court, “a international center for the prosecution of crimes of aggression in Ukraine& rdquor ;, has announced the president of the European Commission.

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The trip has also allowed the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, confirm the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Schmyhal, that the EU will train 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers, 15,000 more than initially announced. In addition to specialized training, they will receive technical training on handling the famous Leopard 2 tanks. Borrell has also announced the disbursement of another 25 million euros for demining dangerous areas.

At the same time, the EU has approved the disbursement of a seventh tranche of aid to Ukraine for the purchase of weapons, which brings the financing provided through the European Peace Support Fund to 3,600 million. In addition, the Twenty-seven have approved a new aid of 45 million to support the training efforts of the European Union Military Assistance Mission.



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