The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Wednesday 7 December unveiled the 9th package of sanctions aimed at further increasing the pressure on Russia for its military aggression in Ukraine. “We will make Russia pay for its cruelty”, she said via Twitter.
The EU institution is proposing to add “almost 200 individuals and entities” to the EU list of persons and entities subject to a ban on entry and freezing of their assets held in the EU, she said. This will include the Russian armed forces, as well as officers, defence industry companies, members of the State Duma and Federation Council, ministers, governors and political parties.
“This list covers key figures in Russia’s brutal and deliberate missile strikes against civilians, in the kidnapping of Ukrainian children to Russia, and in the theft of Ukrainian agricultural products”, von der Leyen said in a video statement.
Putin is using “food as a weapon”, and doing the same with winter by plunging Ukrainians into cold and darkness, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell condemned. He said that “judges” providing bogus rulings to legitimise the actions of politicians would also be targeted by EU sanctions.
Three new Russian banks are also targeted, including a full transaction ban with the Russian Regional Development Bank to further paralyse Putin’s financial machine.
In the area of trade, the Commission suggests that Member States impose further export restrictions, particularly on dual-use goods. “These include key chemicals, nerve agents, electronic and IT components that could be used in the service of the Russian war machine”, said Ms von der Leyen.
In particular, it is proposed to ban the direct export of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia and to any third country, such as Iran, which may supply UAVs to the Russian military.
Further investment restrictions will be placed on the energy sector and even banned in the mining sector.
Finally, the Commission wants to hit “the Russian propaganda machine by taking four additional channels off the air and all other distribution platforms”, von der Leyen added. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)