The EU today unveiled a new package of sanctions against Vladimir PutinRussia’s regime, closing its airspace to all Russian planes and banning Kremlin propaganda Russia today and Sputnik.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the new measures at a press conference this afternoon, which will include funding for the purchase and supply of weapons in Ukraine.
Ms von der Layen said it was the first time the EU had done so for an attacked country.
She said: “We are closing EU airspace to all Russian planes, including the private planes of oligarchs.
“Second, in another unprecedented step, we will ban the Kremlin’s media machine in the EU.
“State-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies in support of Putin’s lies.”
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announces new measures at a press conference this afternoon
Russian forces enter Ukraine’s second-largest city, Ukraine, today after failing in a night-long effort to take control of the capital, Kiev
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said today that it had killed more than 4,300 Russian soldiers in the first three days of fighting. Russia has not released up-to-date information on its military losses. In the photo: A fighter from the Ukrainian Territorial Defense examines a destroyed Russian infantry mobile machine GAZ Tiger after a fight in Kharkov
A Russian tank burning in the Ukrainian city of Sumy, just days after recently discovered footage from a billboard, shows a huge column of tanks moving in
Ms. von der Leyen also revealed additional sanctions against Alexander Lukashenko’s pro-Kremlin regime in Belarus.
“We will focus on the other aggressor in this war, the Lukashenko regime, which is complicit in the brutal attack on Ukraine,” she said.
“We will hit them with a new package of sanctions, with restrictive measures against the most important sectors.
“This will stop their exports of products from mineral fuels to tobacco, timber, iron and steel.
“We will extend to Belarus the restrictions we have imposed on goods exported in double exports to Russia.
“And we will also sanction those Belarusians who help the Russian military effort.”
This comes after an enraged Vladimir Putin brought Russia’s nuclear deterrent forces into “combat readiness” as he criticized a wave of Western sanctions, including the expulsion of several Russian banks from the global Swift payment system.
The EU’s plan to finance arms purchases has been unprecedented and will use millions of euros to help purchase air defense systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces. It will also supply items such as fuel, protective equipment, helmets and first aid kits.
The system can also use EU money to reimburse EU countries that have already sent deadly and non-lethal aid to Ukraine this year, giving these countries an incentive to invest more in such aid.
To step up its military training and support missions around the world, the 27-nation bloc has set up the European Peace Fund, a fund with a ceiling of about 5.7 billion euros.
Some of the money can be used to train and equip partner countries, including with deadly weapons.
Von der Leyen said that in addition to arms purchases, EU countries would close EU airspace to Russians – decisions that more than a dozen EU members have already announced.
“We are proposing a ban on all Russian-owned, Russian-registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. “These planes will no longer be able to land, take off or fly over EU territory,” she said.
She said the EU would also ban the Kremlin’s “media machine”. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and sow division in our union. “
Von der Leyen added that the EU will also turn to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to support Russia’s widespread military campaign in Ukraine.
“We will hit the Lukashenko regime with a new package of sanctions,” she said.
Vladimir Putin on a visit to the National Space Agency in Moscow this afternoon
Meanwhile, BP is giving up its controversial 20 percent stake in Russia’s “immediate effect” energy group Rosneft, the oil giant said on Sunday.
CEO Bernard Looney revealed the move today, saying he was “sad” and “shocked” by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
This comes after he was summoned to a meeting with Business Secretary Kwasi Quarteng on Friday amid growing concerns about BP’s Russian deals.
There is growing pressure on politicians and business leaders to sever ties with the Vladimir Putin regime as images coming out of Ukraine, including bloodied civilians and destroyed buildings, continue to provoke anger among the British public.
Mr Luni said today: “I was deeply shocked and saddened by the situation unfolding in Ukraine …