While violent battles continue in Ukraine, the European Union countries announced, on Thursday, the imposition of new sanctions on Russia, including gold imports and tightening export controls on some high-tech goods.
European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said the “strengthened and extended EU sanctions against the Kremlin” send “a strong signal to Moscow that we will keep pressure high for as long as possible.”
The details of the sanctions are still unclear because they still need to be published in the EU’s Official Journal.
European Union officials have been seeking throughout the week to tighten the broad package of sanctions on Russia and to search for ways to add a ban on gold exports in the hope that the measures will finally begin to decisively affect the war in Ukraine.
“The most important thing at the moment is the ban on Russian gold,” the European Union’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said on Monday, which is Moscow’s second largest export industry after energy.
Last month, the Group of Seven major industrialized nations already committed to the gold ban, arguing that Russia used its gold to prop up its currency to circumvent the impact of several rounds of sanctions countries around the world had already imposed on Moscow for invading Ukraine on February 24.
In addition to the restrictive measures, the European Union has also decided to provide 500 million euros to boost military aid to Ukraine.
In a related context, the Central Bank of Ukraine announced, Thursday, the devaluation of the national currency, the hryvnia, by 25% against the dollar due to the impact of the Russian invasion on the country’s economy.
“This measure will enhance the competitiveness of Ukrainian producers” and “support the stability of the economy under war conditions,” the central bank said in a statement.
The exchange rate was set Thursday at 36.57 hryvnia to the dollar, compared to 29.25 hryvnia to the dollar in the past, a rate that has been adopted since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February.
Two killed in bombing of Kharkiv
On the field level, the recent Russian bombing of Kharkiv, the second largest Ukrainian city, killed two people and wounded 19 others on Thursday, according to the region’s governor.
“19 people were wounded, including a child. Unfortunately, four people are in serious condition. Two people died,” Governor Oleg Senegubov wrote on social media after the bombing.
The city of Kharkiv, located about forty kilometers from the Russian border, has been subjected to continuous bombardment by the Russian army since the start of the invasion at the end of February, but Moscow’s forces have not yet succeeded in controlling it.
The bombing of the city on Wednesday killed at least three people, including a 13-year-old teenager.
On the other hand, the head of the Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, said that about 15,000 soldiers have already been killed by the Russian side since Moscow invaded Ukraine.
He added during a security conference in the American city of Aspen that he believed that three times that number had been injured since the invasion began in late February.
“The Ukrainians also suffered losses, but perhaps less,” he said on Wednesday evening.
At times, he noted, Russian forces would retreat into a more comfortable position, using their advances and the power of long-range weapons to efficiently destroy Ukrainian targets.
He pointed out that by doing so, Moscow compensates for the weakness that it still suffers from in its military ranks.