The European Union announced targeted sanctions against Russia

The European Union has announced that it will impose a targeted economic “sanction package” on Russia in response to the entry of Russian troops into Donbass, Ukraine. The decision came after an extraordinary meeting between European foreign ministers. The Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, specified that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not among the subjects subject to sanctions, while the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, announced that the meeting scheduled for Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. will not hold.

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According to Borrell, the sanctions target individuals who have contributed to harming the “sovereignty and integrity” of Ukraine, and who work in various sectors, from the economy to the media. Borrell added that the 351 members of the State Duma – the lower house of the Russian Federal Parliament – who voted to recognize the unilaterally proclaimed Donbass republics, Donetsk and Luhansk republics, will also be subject to sanctions.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen He said That the person approved is a “hard package” of sanctions containing “calculated actions” against “individuals” and companies involved in military actions in the self-proclaimed republics. The sanctions also affect the banks that financially support the Russian military apparatus, which “contributed to the destabilization of Ukraine.”

Finally, von der Leyen concluded, the EU wants to limit Russia’s access to financial capital in European markets. We will do everything in our power to prevent the Kremlin from continuing its attacks.”

The European sanctions had already been announced on Monday evening, shortly after the unexpected surprise military operation It was ordered by Putin in the self-declared Donbass republics, Donetsk and Luhansk, which on paper are considered part of Ukraine but since 2014 occupied by pro-Russian separatists backed by Russia. The military operation came after Putin officially recognized the two self-proclaimed republics as independent entities, in flagrant violation of the 2015 Minsk Peace Agreement between Russia and Ukraine (in fact Russia has never respected it).

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