Strasbourg (France) – AFP
In a resolution adopted on Thursday, the European Parliament called for a “comprehensive and immediate” ban on imports of “oil, nuclear fuel, coal and gas” from Russia.
513 European deputies voted in favor of the resolution, 22 voted once morest and 19 abstained.
European Parliament President Roberta Mezzola commented, “This is a very important moment and a meaningful stage. Parliament’s position is clear and sends the strongest messages of support to those on the front line.”
On Tuesday, the European Commission proposed to the 27 member states to stop their purchases of Russian coal, which constitutes 45% of EU imports, and to close European ports to Russian ships. The procedures for this fifth package of sanctions are currently being discussed among representatives of member states.
Parliament is calling for it to move forward, but a possible embargo on Russian oil (25% of total European oil imports) and Russian gas (45% of the total) is the subject of bitter debates among member states, and Berlin has publicly expressed reluctance, and the topic is set to be debated Monday at a meeting of European foreign ministers.
With this decision, European MPs are also requesting to “intensify the sending of weapons to Ukraine”, which was also demanded by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba Thursday during his visit to the NATO headquarters in Brussels.
So far, European Union countries have agreed on a €1 billion package to supply Kyiv with weapons, and EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said: “It might sound like a lot, but €1 billion is what we pay Putin every day for the energy he supplies us with.”
The European Parliament also called on the European Union to exclude all Russian banks from the SWIFT system of fast and secure banking communication (following seven Russian banks were excluded from it), and to prevent the land and sea transport of goods towards Russia.
He called for “all necessary measures” to be taken “to prosecute the actions of Vladimir Putin and (Belarusian President) Alexander Lukashenko as war crimes and crimes once morest humanity.”
MEPs spoke of their support for the creation of a “Marshall Plan-like fund” to rebuild post-war Ukraine.
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German Chancellor Scholz once once more condemned the Russian military for war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Butcha in the Bundestag on Wednesday, and demanded that Russia be held accountable, according to German television. Scholz criticized Russia’s assertion that the images were designed by Ukraine as cynical.
The war continued to touch the nerves of Germany. German Economy Minister Habeck continued to reject an immediate ban on imports of Russian natural gas, according to Deutsche Radio. At the same time, due to high energy prices, a serious shortage of truck drivers, the ban on Russian timber imports will lead to a lack of wooden pallets required for German goods transportation and other reasons, the German logistics industry is facing bankruptcy.
The German media continued to follow the war situation on a daily basis. Regarding the new sanctions plan launched by the EU, Süddeutsche Zeitung believes that the new sanctions have weighed all parties and are relatively balanced. Sanctions will hurt Putin’s regime, but the unscrupulous president certainly won’t change his policies because of it, or at least not anytime soon. Eastern European governments have called for tougher sanctions, such as bans on natural gas imports. But it would be wise for the EU to limit itself to less aggressive measures, such as halting coal imports from Russia. Member states can cope well with the abandonment of Russian coal. But on the other hand, a quick gas embargo would put a lot of pressure on countries like Germany, Italy, Austria and Hungary, and it would last for a long time.
“Brandenburg Oder Zeitung” is concerned regarding the expulsion of Russian diplomats by the German Foreign Office. The newspaper wrote: In response to the Butcha massacre, Germany expelled 40 Russian embassy employees for allegedly being spies. It is stupid to do so. If they were really spies, why didn’t Foreign Minister Belbok send them home sooner? If they are not, then expelling them is a false signal. Diplomacy ensures dialogue and is especially important for enemies. Germany’s expulsion of 40 Russian diplomats will lead to Russia’s expulsion of 40 German diplomats. The number of people talking to each other fell by 80. In this way, at some point, only the weapon can speak.
As far as the international situation is concerned, the German newspaper Die Welt believes that although it does not seem to be the case, for the West, the most dangerous enemy is not Russia, but China. Xi and Putin work closely together and make other countries depend on them. The United States and its allies have never been more isolated. This is the painful reality.
Ukraine-Russia talks resume; Russian retreat in more places | Russia-Ukraine War
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Kyiv: The two countries have resumed talks to end the conflict as Russian troops withdraw from more parts of Ukraine. This is a continuation of the talks that began 3 days ago in Turkey with a delegation of officials from both countries. The head of the Russian delegation Vladimir Medinsky released a picture of the discussion via video link. This was confirmed by the office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Selensky.
Kyiv Regional Governor Oleksandr Pavlok announced that Russian troops had withdrawn from Irpin and Hostomal in the Kyiv suburbs. These war-torn cities are now under full Ukrainian control. The governor announced that Russian troops had begun to withdraw from Chernivtsi. The death toll from a Russian rocket attack on Mikhail has risen to 28. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has complained that Russia did not grant permission for the evacuation of war-torn Mariupol.
Despite President Putin’s ultimatum to supply natural gas only in rubles, Russian gas moved smoothly to Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a statement that the agreement was not a signal of a formal antitrust inquiry into the allegations.
Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out airstrikes on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod. This is the first time Ukraine has been accused of invading Russian soil. However, Ukraine is not ready to confirm or deny this. The governor of Belgorod said the attack was carried out by two helicopters. The European Commission has approved the purchase of a maximum of 300 euros in currency held by Ukrainian refugees. China has made it clear at the EU-China summit that it will not supply arms to Russia in violation of sanctions.
Content Highlight: Russia, Ukraine, Ukraine Crisis, Russia-Ukraine War
Moscow: Washington “misunderstands” the Kremlin’s way of working
written by Alexandra Hartman Editor-in-Chief
Moscow – AFP
On Thursday, the Kremlin considered it disturbing that the United States did not understand the way the regime operates in Russia, in response to Westerners who asserted that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s advisers were lying to him, for fear of informing him of the truth of what is happening in the war in Ukraine.
“They do not understand President Putin, they do not understand the decision-making process, they do not understand our work,” Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
He added, “This is not only unfortunate, it is worrying, because when there is a similar degree of misunderstanding, it leads to wrong decisions, which will later lead to serious consequences.”
The US and British intelligence had reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin was receiving misleading information regarding the course of the war in Ukraine, because his advisers were afraid to inform him of the military and economic losses that Russia had incurred as a result of the military operation.