The companies were officially labeled by Ukraine as “war helpers” and subject to sanctions such as asset confiscation. This emerges from a decree by President Zelenskyy, published on Saturday.
Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has been criticized for its involvement in Russia. The Russian subsidiary of UniCredit, parent of Bank Austria, was managed from Vienna until 2016. RBI and UniCredit Austria are the largest banks in Austria after the Erste Group.
RBI as a Lender in Russia
On January 13, Vasyl Chymynez, the Ukrainian ambassador to Austria, asked Austrian companies to withdraw from the Russian market. They should not continue to help Russian President Vladimir Putin finance his war of aggression against Ukraine, Chymynez told the ZIB in an interview.
Earlier, almost the entire RBI board, including CEO Johann Strobl, was placed on a list of people recommended for sanctions in Kyiv. The RBI has also been accused of granting loan deferrals to Russian soldiers. The RBI said it was required by law to do so.
RBI: “No new business” since the start of the war
At the end of 2021, RBI had over 9,000 employees in Russia. According to “Standard”, the bank is one of the ten largest credit institutions in the country. The Russian subsidiary of RBI contributed a large part of the Viennese banking group’s profit.
Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) stressed on Sunday that Leasing has no assets in Ukraine and that customers would be affected if they headed to Ukraine with leased assets. According to the RBI for the APA, no new leases have been concluded in Russia since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression.
Assets confiscated for national defense
A total of 182 companies and three people are affected. They are tasked with transporting military personnel and equipment by rail on behalf of the aggressor state. The confiscated available assets will benefit national defense, Zelenskyy said in his Saturday night video message. Belarusian companies are also on the list published in the evening.
Ukraine is working to ensure that other states block the company’s assets. At the same time, Zelenskyy thanked “everyone who is helping to strengthen sanctions against Russia” and the investigators who discovered and prosecuted Russia’s evasion of sanctions.
Zelenskyy demands delivery of long-range missiles
Also, according to Zelenskyy, Ukraine needs long-range missiles. According to Zelensky, Kyiv wants to prevent Russian attacks on Ukrainian settlements and civilians. Ukraine needs US-made ATACMS missiles with a range of about 300 kilometers. Washington has so far refused to supply Ukraine with such weapons.
debate
Ukraine: what are the consequences of tank deliveries?
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned of a “constant bidding war” for weapons systems. The question of combat aircraft does not even arise. “If, as soon as a decision is taken, the next debate starts in Germany, it doesn’t look serious and undermines citizens’ confidence in state decisions,” Scholz stressed, referring to the recent decision to deliver war tanks to Kyiv.
He reiterated: “A German chancellor who takes his oath of office seriously must do everything to ensure that Russia’s war against Ukraine does not turn into a war between Russia and NATO.” He emphasized again that it was a war between Russia and Ukraine – even if Germany supported Ukraine with financial and humanitarian aid, as well as weapons.
Russia accuses Ukraine of bombing hospital
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense accused the Ukrainian armed forces of attacking a hospital in the Luhansk region – it was a “serious war crime of the Kiev regime”. The ministry in Moscow announced last night – some ten hours after the alleged incident – that the hospital in Nowoaydar had been attacked by a US HIMARS multiple rocket launcher.
14 people died and 24 patients and clinic staff were injured. Those responsible will be found and held accountable, the statement said on Saturday. The information could not be independently verified. The ministry did not release videos or photos of the impact, which would have happened early in the morning. Only Russian state television published unverifiable footage on Saturday night that showed a destroyed building. A table with the opening hours of the clinic was also posted. No person or ambulance was seen in the video footage.
There was no reaction from Ukraine to the allegations. Russia has largely occupied the Luhansk region, which is why Ukrainian forces are trying to liberate the region with the help of western weapons.