The European Commission this Wednesday adopted its proposal for a tenth package of sanctions against Russia for the “imperialist war” launched in Ukraine, which will cover technologies critical to the Russian war machine and also target the “propagandist machine” of the Kremlin.
“For almost a year now, the Russian offensive war has been sowing death and destruction. Vladimir Putin not only wages a ruthless war on the battlefield, he also viciously targets civilians. The perpetrator must pay for this. We are stepping up the pressure with a tenth sanctions package”announced the President of the Executive, Ursula von der Leyen, who is urging member states to adopt it without delay so that it can enter into force no later than February 24, the date on which a year has passed since the beginning of the invasion.
In a statement to the press, after taking part in a debate in the European Parliament on the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, von der Leyen began by emphasizing that the proposal envisages “additional export bans, worth more than €11 billion, to deprive the Russian economy of critical technology and industrial goods”.
“For maximum impact, we are targeting many industrial goods that Russia needs and cannot get from other countries such as China. Essential goods such as electronic equipment, specialized vehicles, machine and engine parts, spare parts for trucks and jet engines. And we are targeting focuses on goods for the construction sector that can be targeted at the Russian armed forces, such as antennas or cranes”he explained.
The German leader added that restrictions on the “export of dual-use and advanced technology goods” will be strengthened, imposing “controls on 47 new electronic components that could be used in Russian weapons systems, including drones, missiles, helicopters.” suggested. ., as well as “in specific rare earth materials and thermal chambers”.
“With this, we are banning all technology products found on the battlefield. And we will make sure (the Russians) don’t find other ways to get there. That’s why we’re adding entities from Russia’s third countries to dual-use sanctions for the first time”said von der Leyen, who had already declared in his speech in the Strasbourg hemisphere on Wednesday that the EU would for the first time target “Iranian entities, including those linked to the Revolutionary Guards”
“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have supplied Russia with ‘Shahed’ drones to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Accordingly, we are now adding seven Iranian entities to our dual-use regime. These now have a total ban on the sale of for Russia sensitive items. And we are ready to list more Iranian and other entities from third countries supplying Russia sensitive technology. This should strongly deter other companies and international traders.”he stressed.
To ensure that Brussels “works closely with Member States, operators and partner countries to counter Russian sanctions evasion”, the President of the Commission confirmed that this tenth package of sanctions – which is already being evaluated and discussed among the 27 – will also target is on “the Russian propaganda machine”.
“Putin is also waging war in the public space, with an army of propagandists and disinformation networks. They are spreading poisonous lies to polarize our societies. That is why we propose to list Putin’s propagandists, as well as more military commanders and politicians.”he said.
The President of the Commission stressed that “the toughest sanctions ever introduced by the European Union” are now in place and it must be ensured that they cannot be circumvented.
“We will track the oligarchs who try to hide or sell their assets to escape sanctions. And together with the Member States, we will draw up an overview of all Russian central bank frozen assets held in the EU. know where they are and how much they are worth, which is critical given the potential use of Russian public funds to fund reconstruction in Ukraine.”he said.
Von der Leyen concluded with a “call on member states to swiftly adopt this new sanctions package”, as “the goal is to end, together with G7 partners, on February 24, exactly one year after Putin ended his imperialist war”.
Source: DN
