Is the EU reacting too late? We will probably find out in the coming hours or days. Meanwhile ministers of foreign affairs The EU agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia.
The EU has approved the first package of sanctions against Russia, according to France and the EU's foreign minister. The United States is preparing the next "wave of sanctions."
The reason for this decision is that Russia decided to recognize the two regions of Lugansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as independent states and sent Russian soldiers there, said French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Tuesday evening.
EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said that 27 people and entities undermining the integrity of Ukraine are currently sanctioned by the EU, but according to Reuters Putin should not be on the sanction list.
The sanctions from the EU are not yet known in detail, but they will be aimed primarily at:
- Against banks financing the Russian army and other operations in the region
- Preventing the Russian state and government from accessing EU capital, financial markets and services in order to limit funding for escalation and aggressive policies
- Against EU trade from two separatist regions, so that those responsible feel clearly the economic consequences of their illegal and aggressive actions
The Commission underlines that the EU "remains in full solidarity with Ukraine".
According to the TASS news agency, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs assessed the sanctions as unlawful on Tuesday.
The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, talks about the sanctions
Waves of sanctions from the United States
At the White House, the Biden administration is working on "sanctions waves," official Jonathan Finer told Reuters.
