The conflict will culminate in this week’s G7 meeting, when Liz Truce will face fellow foreign ministers demanding much tougher sanctions that would send Moscow’s economy “back to the Soviet era.” Speaking in Poland, the foreign minister said she would urge Western allies to join the UK in banning Russian ships from ports, imposing sanctions on more Russian banks and targeting the country’s gold. A new package should also include “an agreement on a clear timetable for the elimination of Russian oil, coal and gas imports,” he said. But shortly afterwards, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen did not mention Russian gas, despite revealing a fifth package of sanctions against Vladimir Putin. The EU will ban imports of coal, wood, cement, alcohol and seafood worth 9.5 billion euros (9 7.9 billion) a year, and is considering a possible embargo on oil. However, while coal imports are worth 4 billion euros a year to Russia, that is less than the 100 billion euros EU countries paid to Russia last year for its oil and gas. The announcement came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky moved his campaign for Russia’s harshest punishment to the United Nations, urging those in the Kremlin to face Nuremberg-type war crimes trials. Referring to the brutality of the Russian forces in painful evidence, Mr. Zelensky said: “They cut limbs, cut their throats, women were raped and killed in front of their children. “Their language came out only because the attacker did not hear what they wanted to hear.” It is much easier for the UK to wean itself off Russian gas than for the EU, which depends on Moscow for 40 percent of its supply, compared to just 4 percent for the UK. An internet tracker estimates that the EU has paid Russia almost 20 billion euros for its energy since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, of which about 9.7 billion euros were for gas. Germany is seen as the main obstacle to the boycott, arguing that the economic blow would weaken the EU at a time when it needs to be strong enough to deal with Russian aggression. Indeed, there have been fears that Russia could cut off supplies itself in retaliation for Western sanctions and weapons sent by NATO allies to bolster Ukraine’s resistance. However, Timothy Ash, senior strategy analyst at asset management company BlueBay, told the Independent that the EU’s actions were useless “unless you impose a full energy boycott”. “The EU is financing the Russian genocide in Ukraine as a result. “Germany has not learned anything from World War II if it does not,” he said, adding that Germany was “increasingly isolated” on the issue. In her speech, Ms. Trouse revealed that the West had frozen more than $ 350 billion (26 266 billion) of Russia’s $ 604 billion in foreign exchange reserves – 60 percent of the total. “Coordinated sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back to the Soviet era,” he said, adding that “we can and must accelerate.” The UK government has said it will ban Russian gas imports, but has not set a date, despite pledging to “abolish” 16% of diesel imports it receives from Russia by the end of the year. He claims that deliveries are “falling naturally” with the imposition of sanctions on Russian liquefied natural gas and alternative supplies from the Middle East. Both the G7 and NATO foreign ministers will meet in Brussels on Thursday – a day before Boris Johnson will host Olaf Soltz, the new German chancellor, on Downing Street.
