It took the United States just a few hours to announce a new sanctions package in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian territories. Finance Minister Janet Yellen announced that about a thousand Russians and Russian companies involved in the war in Ukraine will be punished.
These include two high-ranking officials of the Russian central bank, 278 Russian parliamentarians and relatives of prominent Russians. Such are the wife and daughters of Defense Minister Shoygu placed on the sanction list. The US also imposes sanctions on Russian companies in, for example, the military industry.
The EU is also preparing a new sanctions package, but details are not yet known. Prime Minister Rutte has already said he is in favor of new measures. He also spoke condemnatory words about Russia and President Putin: “The world will never accept Putin pushing the boundaries with a few strokes of the pen.” In addition, Rutte called the annexation “another escalation” and accused Putin of using “a cynical method” to justify his mobilization.
pen strokes
Other Western leaders spoke in similar terms. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said “the illegal annexation proclaimed by Putin will not change anything. All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian and will always be part of that sovereign country.”
US President Joe Biden said the Russian action has no legitimacy. He also wants to support Ukraine with a new package of 12 billion dollars. The US will also punish countries and non-Russian individuals and companies if they give “economic or political support” to Russia’s annexation.
Ukraine says it has filed an “accelerated application” for NATO membership in response to the annexation of 15 percent of its territory. It is not clear what President Zelensky means by this. Accession to NATO is a lengthy process, in which states must meet various criteria, from a functioning democratic constitutional state to a liberal market economy.
In addition, it is highly unlikely that NATO member states will agree to Ukrainian membership. Article 5 of the NATO charter states that an attack on one of the member states is an attack on all member states. That means the rest of the alliance must come to the aid of a member state under attack. Since Ukraine is at war with Russia, that would mean that NATO would also become directly involved in the conflict, should Ukraine join now.
Don’t talk to Putin
Nevertheless, Zelensky says that Ukraine has already joined the alliance ‘de facto’, referring to Western arms supplies. ‘We trust each other, we help each other, we protect each other. That’s the alliance.’ By applying for NATO membership, he also wants to turn the factual reality into a legal reality, according to Zelensky.
Despite the annexation, Zelensky says he remains a supporter of negotiations with Russia – with one big ‘but’: not with President Putin. “Obviously it’s impossible with this Russian president. He doesn’t know what dignity and honesty are.’
Zelensky, in slamming the door to negotiations with Putin, no doubt feels bolstered by Ukraine’s recent military successes. The country is making ground gains in the east around the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and in the south near Kherson, while Russia must try to limit losses with chaotic mobilization. In addition, it is likely that Western allies in response to the Russian annexation will supply even more weapons to Ukraine.