A day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy gave a scary testimony to the UN over atrocities he described as war crimes, EU diplomats were preparing to discuss a ban on Russian coal, a cessation of trade with four key Russian banks. from EU ports later. on Wednesday. The closest members of the Russian leader’s family could be added to the growing list of sanctions, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the plan, according to news agencies. It is unclear whether these sanctions against Maria Vorontsova and Katerina Tikhonova will come from the US, the EU or both. However, tensions were rising between EU member states over the measures. Lithuania, one of Ukraine’s most ardent allies in the bloc, said the proposals “were not really an adequate response” to the horror discovered in Ukrainian cities following the withdrawal of Russian troops. “Coal, four banks (already withdrawn), the port and border ban (with exceptions) are not really an appropriate package of sanctions for the massacres that are being uncovered,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. “A weak response is just a call for more atrocities. It could and should be stronger. “ Lithuania announced on Sunday that it had cut off gas imports from Russia, the first EU member state to do so, but the bloc as a whole, which receives 40% of its gas imports from its eastern neighbor, is reluctant to do so. step. The EU has stepped up stalled talks on further sanctions against Russia as evidence emerged of alleged war crimes against defenseless civilians in cities controlled by Russian forces. In a painful testimony to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Zelensky described how people were shot, tortured, raped and crushed by tanks, urging Russian leaders to be brought to justice for war crimes through an international tribunal. . “There is not a single crime that they did not commit there,” he told the assembly. “They killed whole families – adults and children – and tried to burn the bodies.” In addition to banning coal and Russian ships (with the exception of humanitarian aid, food and energy), the European Commission has proposed a total ban on trading in four Russian banks, including the second largest, VTB. The EU, however, has cut VTB off from the Swift messaging system, making it much more difficult to do business with the bank. According to proposals announced on Tuesday by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Russian and Belarusian road transport companies will be barred from entering the EU. The commission also wants to ban the export of high-tech products, including quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, in Russia. Some Russian imports will be banned, including wood, cement, seafood and spirits, which are estimated at 5.5 billion euros a year in Russia. The plans are being considered by EU capitals, which are likely to amend the measures before seeking a unanimous agreement, either on Wednesday or Thursday. After a meeting with his German counterpart in Berlin, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said European sanctions would include coal and oil. If passed, the measures would be the EU’s fifth package of sanctions since Vladimir Putin said he would recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk republics of eastern Ukraine, the basis for the unprovoked invasion he launched days later. While the first four rounds of EU sanctions were agreed relatively quickly, tensions have risen over the next steps. Poland and the Baltic states are calling for a complete ban on Russian exports of fossil fuels, while Germany, which supplies 55 percent of its gas from Russia, is worried about unemployment and rising gas prices. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who was congratulated by the Kremlin on his election victory on Monday, also opposes the ban on gas and oil. Austria is also considered lukewarm in plans. “It is clear that Vienna, Budapest and Berlin are less happy,” said a diplomat from one of the so-called sanctions countries, which supports a hard line. Germany supports the coal ban, which will target trade worth 4 billion euros a year to Russia. Last month, Deputy Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck announced a plan to phase out Russian coal by the end of the summer and oil by the end of the year. “By the end of the year, we aim to be almost independent,” he said. The Netherlands, home to the EU’s largest port, Rotterdam, is seen as supporting a ban on Russian ships. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. In a separate speech to the Spanish parliament on Tuesday, Zelenksiy called for a ban on lucrative Russian oil exports. Drawing parallels between the bombing of Guernica in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and the invasion of his country, Zelensky said that “the fate of the whole European enterprise, the values that unite us” is at stake in Ukraine. Russia has denied any responsibility for the deaths, claiming that photos were taken or that people were killed after withdrawing their forces. Satellite images, however, show corpses lying on the streets in Russian-occupied cities. EU sanctions are being co-ordinated with the White House, which has promised to ban all investment in Russia. “The goal is to make them make a choice,” said Jen Psaki, a White House spokeswoman. “Most of our goal here is to deplete the resources that Putin has to continue the war against Ukraine.” “You can expect… that they will target Russian government officials, their family members, Russian financial institutions, as well as state-owned enterprises,” he said. He declined to comment on reports in the Wall Street Journal that the sanctions would target Putin’s two daughters.
