The EU is preparing the next wave of sanctions against the Russian Federation, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said.
“We can never match the sacrifice of the Ukrainian people, never can we match that, but we are mobilizing our economic power to make Putin pay a very, very heavy price. We have as you said imposed five waves of unprecedented sanctions against Russia and we are already preparing the next wave,” von der Leyen said at a press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Friday.
Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said that Raiffeisen Bank supports sanctions against the Russian Federation and has not invested in the Russian economy since the occupation of Crimea, and the Austrian government does not intend to ignore attempts to circumvent anti-Russian sanctions by anyone.
“Raiffeisen Bank has branches not only in Russia, but also here in Ukraine. Raiffeisen supported our sanctions right away, but we knew from the very beginning, from the time Russia annexed Crimea, that you can’t invest in Russia because it’s risky investments, and there is no support from the Austrian government for Raiffeisen Bank, although it is a very big investor in Ukraine as well. And Raiffeisen Bank itself will try to make efforts to ensure that all sanctions are observed,” Nehammer said at a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday in Kyiv, answering a journalist’s question about the work of Raiffeisen Bank in the Russian Federation.
“In Austria, any attempts to circumvent these sanctions will be punished. We must act with strong, powerful sanctions against Russia. Not only the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank, but also other firms and banks are losing large investments. But the losses that the Austrian economy suffers from sanctions , although they amount to billions of euros, are incomparable with the pain and grief experienced by the Ukrainian people,” the Austrian Chancellor added.
He stressed that Austria will increase sanctions against the Russian Federation until the war is over. “Militarily, we are neutral, but we can never put up with crimes and will help those who suffer from injustice. This means that Austria fully supports the sanctions of the European Union, imposes them on itself, and Austria also supports Ukraine with its capabilities. “What is most needed from Ukraine’s point of view. Within the framework of the European Union, we will further strengthen sanctions until the war is over. And now another package of sanctions has been adopted, and this will not be the last one, with the aim of stopping the war,” Nehammer said. .
According to him, the new package of sanctions will have to be “more powerful and more accurate” – “Russian weapons factories will not receive electronic parts, and without these parts drones will not be able to fly, and weapons will not be able to be used.”
“We will continue on this path, and in the European Union everyone is united, and we will make these sanctions stronger than ever before in the EU. We understand that they are not enough, because people are dying, but we need to these sanctions should be imposed in such a quantity that they are directed against those who cause these sanctions. And all partners in the EU want to stop this war,” the German Chancellor stressed.
He also noted that Austria is making efforts to create effective humanitarian corridors, including for the evacuation of people from Mariupol, Donetsk region, and also promised to support refugees from Ukraine. “There is a lot of solidarity in Austria with those people who were expelled from Ukraine by the war. There is a lot of willingness to help, and this is very common for Austrian society – people want to help and help if they can. I promise that this will not stop,” Nehammer said. .
The United States has included a number of Sberbank Group companies, including subsidiary banks in Ukraine and Kazakhstan, Cetelem Bank, bankrupt Sberbank Europe AG and payment service YooMoney, in its sanctions list, a statement from the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) indicated.
Sberbank Insurance, Sberbank Life Insurance, Sberbank Insurance Broker, Sberbank Leasing, Sberbank Factoring, NPF Sberbank, Sberbank-AST, Sberbank Capital, Sberbank CIB and Strategy Partners have also been included in the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN List), as has United Credit Bureau, in which Sberbank holds a 50% according to the latest disclosure.
The SDN List now also includes Digital Technologies, a company through which Russia’s top bank invested in a range of information technology companies.
The United States on Wednesday imposed blocking sanctions against Sberbank that call for freezing assets in the U.S. and bar U.S. citizens from doing any business with the bank. The UK imposed similar sanctions against Sberbank.
The United States imposed correspondent and payable-through account sanctions against Sberbank in February 2022.
The President of the European Commission (EC), Ursula von der Leyen, announced on Tuesday proposals for new sanctions of the EU’s fifth package against Russia.
“The ban on coal imports from Russia worth 4 billion euros per year, which cuts another important source of income for Russia. A complete ban on transactions with four key Russian banks, including VTB, the second largest Russian bank,” the report said. statement of the head of the EC, published on Twitter.
BAN, BANKS, EU, IMPORT, RUSSIAN COAL, SANCTIONS, TRANSACTIONS
Germany creates the main difficulties for tightening sanctions against the Russian Federation, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said at a press conference on Monday. “This is Germany, which is the main hindrance to the sanctions,” Western media quoted the prime minister as saying. Hungary, according to Morawiecki, does not block the possibility of strengthening sanctions against Russia. On the eve of the President of the European Council Charles Michel said that the EU authorities are preparing for new sanctions against Russia.
The German government calls for an investigation into the crimes of the Russian military and tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation, reports DW. “We must investigate these crimes of the Russian military with all severity,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday, after the publication of evidence of war crimes committed by Russian invaders in the Kiev region. He noted that “criminals and those who gave them orders must be consistently held accountable.” Scholz also appealed to Moscow with a call to “finally agree to a ceasefire and stop hostilities.” At the same time, the German cabinet calls for tougher sanctions against the Russian Federation. “(…) We will tighten sanctions against Russia and support Ukraine even more strongly in its defense,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock tweeted. The head of the Ministry of Economy and Vice-Chancellor of Germany, Robert Habek, also supports the tightening of sanctions against the Russian Federation. “This terrible war crime cannot go unanswered (the crimes of the Russian military in the Kiev region – IF),” he said in an interview with the German publication Bild. He also noted that “increased punitive measures against Russia are already under development” with partners in the EU.
