The EU announces new sanctions against Russia. “The strongest ever”. Hitting key interests

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Jürgen Trumpf, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced the introduction of new sanctions against Russia at a press conference on Thursday. This is a response to the attack carried out on Ukraine from the early morning hours.

Ursula von der Leyen: We will freeze Russian assets

– President Putin has brought the war back to Europe. These are the dark hours. The European Union stands together with Ukraine. We are witnessing an unprecedented act of aggression against a sovereign state. Russia’s goal is not only Donbass and Ukraine, but stability in Europe. We will hold President Putin accountable for what happened, said der Leyen.

– We will show a package of massive, carefully designed sanctions. We will cover responsible people as well as strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking access to technology in markets that are crucial for Russia. We will weaken its economic base and its ability to modernize, explained the head of the European Commission.

We will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and block the access of Russian banks to European financial markets. The sanctions are intended to hit the Kremlin’s interests very hard and to wage warfare.

– assured the EU leader.

In her opinion, President Putin is trying to “turn back the clock to the time of the Soviet empire, but he is putting the future of the entire Russian nation at risk.” – I call on Russia to cease operations immediately and to withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory. We will not allow President Putin to destroy the security architectures that have brought peace and stability to Europe. We will not allow President Putin to replace the rule of law with force and ruthlessness. History has already proven that societies and alliances built on trust succeed. And that’s exactly what the autocrats are afraid of, she said.

EU Foreign Affairs Representative: Strongest package ever

Jürgen Trumpf, the Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also stressed that the European Union would act decisively towards Russia. – These are one of the darkest hours for Europe since the end of World War II. A major nuclear power has attacked a neighboring country and is threatening to attack countries that want to come to the rescue. It is a violation of not only international rules, but the fundamental principles of human coexistence. Many lives are a victim of this, he said.

The European Union will respond in the strongest possible way

– he assured. He also announced the implementation of “the strongest sanctions package ever implemented”.

The European Union is preparing sanctions

Leaders of EU institutions informed on Thursday morning that further restrictions will be associated with huge and serious consequences for Russia for its actions. The package of new restrictions will be discussed tonight at an extraordinary summit in Brussels attended by the leaders of the 27 member states.

Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel announced that the restrictions would be adopted very quickly and would be in coordination with partners. It is about the USA, Great Britain and Canada. The presidents of the European Commission and the Council wrote about the unprecedented Russian military aggression against Ukraine. “With its unprovoked and unjustified military actions, Russia blatantly violates international law and undermines European and world security and stability,” emphasized the leaders of EU institutions.