The European Union (EU) said on Wednesday that it had gathered enough “evidence” that the ‘drones’ used by Russia in Ukraine were provided by Iran, admitting sanctions against Tehran.
“Now that we have gathered enough evidence, we are working on a clear, fast and firm European response,” said Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for European diplomat Josep Borrell.
A list of sanctions has been sent to member states and a decision is expected “during the week,” a diplomatic source quoted by AFP said.
“A broad political consensus has emerged … that the EU must react quickly,” explained Nabila Massrali.
The Ukrainian Air Force said on Wednesday that it had destroyed 223 Iranian drones since mid-September.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba – who was forced into a shelter on Monday due to drone strikes on Kiev – has already called on his European counterpart to sanction Iran.
The Europeans on Monday sanctioned eleven senior Iranian officials, including the head of the moral police, involved in the repression of the protests caused by the death of the young Mahsa Amini.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died in hospital on September 16, after being arrested days earlier by the morality police for not wearing the Islamic headscarf correctly.
The military offensive launched on February 24 by Russia in Ukraine has already caused the flight of more than 13 million people -more than six million internally displaced persons and more than 7.6 million to European countries-, according to the latest data from the UN, which places this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
The Russian invasion – justified by Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russia’s security – was condemned by the generality of the international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing them on Russia. political and economic sanctions.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 6,306 civilian deaths and 9,602 wounded, highlighting that these figures are far below the real ones.
Source: TSF
