Russia 'has shown full extent of contempt for diplomacy and law,' EU's von der Leyen says
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said in her statement that Russia “has shown the full extent of its contempt for diplomacy and international law” over the last month, as she criticised the largest-scale drone and missile attacks on Ukraine.
She specifically referenced the Russian strikes on Kyiv that hit the EU office in the capital, and Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania.
These are not the actions of someone who wants peace.
The 19th package of sanctions comes in response to this “escalation” from Putin, she explained, as she outlined the key elements of what’s being proposed.
She says the EU will “want to cut” Russia’s revenues from fossil fuels, banning imports of Russian LNG into European markets.
118 additional vessels from the Russian shadow fleet will get added to the sanction list, which totals 560 vessels.
She added that “major energy trading companies Rosneft and Gazpromneft will now be on a full transaction ban,” and “other companies will also come under asset freeze.”
Crucially, the new package will also target “refiners, oil traders, petrochemical companies in third countries, including China” who are alleged to be “purchasing oil in breach of the sanctions.”
“In three years, Russia’s oil revenues in Europe have gone down by 90%. We are now turning that page for good,” she said.
The package will also look at closing “the financial looppholes,” von der Leyen said, adding that it will bring forward “a transaction ban on additional banks in Russia and on banks in third countries.”
