Ursula von der Leyen will announce the proposed new sanctions on Wednesday (Getty)
Expected to announce European Union Impose sanctions on Russia targeting oil Today is Wednesday, where you face RussiaThe European Union, which has been hit by Western sanctions, has taken new measures targeting its banks and oil sector, in a major move for European countries that rely heavily on Russian energy imports.
According to Archyde.com, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will announce the proposed new sanctions on Wednesday. They include banning Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
Several European diplomatic sources indicated that Sberbank, the largest in Russia, and the holder of the largest market share with 37 percent, will be excluded from the “Swift” system for international money transfers.
Kyiv says Russia’s energy exports to Europe, so far largely exempt from international sanctions, are funding the Kremlin’s war effort, bringing in millions of euros a day.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday evening that “this package should include clear steps to block Russia’s income from energy resources.”
Moscow has shown no signs of backing down, nearly 10 weeks after the start of what it describes as a “special military operation” that has killed thousands, destroyed cities and forced five million Ukrainians to flee the country. The Russian economy is heading for the biggest contraction since the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin preempted the expected sixth package of sanctions from the European Union, by issuing a decree with new retaliatory sanctions.
The Kremlin said Putin had signed a decree imposing retaliatory economic sanctions in response to “unfriendly practices taken by some foreign countries and international organizations.”
Under the new decree, Russia prohibits the export of products and raw materials to sanctioned persons and entities.
(Archyde.com, The New Arab)