Dhe European Commission has presented the 27 countries of the European Union with proposals for new sanctions against Russia because of the attack on Ukraine. As agreed at the G7 summit in June, the import of gold from Russia should be banned, the authority announced on Friday in Brussels. In addition, further supporters of the Russian war against Ukraine are to be put on the EU sanctions list. “Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression,” said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The sanctions must be decided unanimously by the EU states.
After the death of more than 20 civilians by Russian rockets in the city of Vinnytsia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for Russia to be officially classified as a terrorist state. “No other country in the world poses such a terrorist threat as Russia,” he said in his video address on Thursday.
Three rockets hit an office center in Vinnytsia on Thursday. As of Friday, 23 fatalities were counted, including a four-year-old girl and two boys aged seven and eight. 18 people were still missing. No other country in the world dares to destroy “peaceful cities and everyday human life” every day with rockets and artillery, Zelenskyy said.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed the shelling of the city in western Ukraine, but spoke of an attack on a military object. In the “Officers’ House” in the center of Vinnytsia there was a meeting between the Ukrainian military and foreign arms suppliers on Thursday, said ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov in Moscow. All participants in the meeting were killed. This part of his statements was unverifiable.
Russian troops have fired on several Ukrainian cities far behind the front lines from afar in recent days. Despite Moscow’s insistence on attacking only military targets, there have been dozens of civilian casualties. Projectiles of the old Soviet design often miss their targets. At least 48 people were killed in a rocket attack on a residential building in the city of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region last weekend.
Seventh EU sanctions package against Russia
The EU’s new package of sanctions is the seventh, according to the count, and the Commission spoke of a package to “maintain and align” the sanctions. It clarifies several regulations to create legal certainty for economic operators and to improve enforcement by the EU states. In addition, the sanctions would be aligned with those of the allies, especially those of the G7 states of leading democratic economic powers.
According to the EU Commission, in addition to the import ban on gold, there are plans to strengthen export controls for advanced technologies and military dual-use products. The package makes it clear that “the EU sanctions in no way affect trade in agricultural products between third countries and Russia”. According to the proposal, the existing sanctions are to be extended until the end of January 2023 and then reviewed.
Most recently, at the beginning of June, the EU decided on a comprehensive package of sanctions against Russia, including an extensive oil embargo. This was preceded by weeks of discussions because Hungary demanded significant concessions and ultimately pushed them through.
Support for Ukraine remains high
A majority of Germans who are eligible to vote want to continue supporting Ukraine, even if this means higher energy prices. In the ZDF “Politbarometer”, which was published on Friday, 70 percent of those questioned spoke out in favor of it. 22 percent rejected further support for the country attacked by Russia – with the aim of lowering energy prices.
However, the proportion of respondents who support an increase in military aid has fallen. It was 35 percent after 44 percent in early July. 32 percent wanted military engagement to remain unchanged, and 24 percent supported a reduction in military aid (beginning of July: 18 percent).
According to Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil, the job centers in Germany are currently caring for and caring for 260,000 refugees who could work in Germany and are entitled to basic security. In addition, at least 100,000 people from Ukraine who are unable to work, such as children and elderly people in need, have been reported so far. Of the around 800,000 refugees who came to Germany, 30 percent were children under the age of 14.
Briton killed in eastern Ukraine
A Briton has died in captivity of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. That said a representative of the separatists, Darya Morozova, and referred to illnesses of the man. According to media reports, he was 45 years old, and the circumstances of his death could not be independently verified. A UK government spokesman said: “These are clearly alarming reports and our thoughts are of course with his family and friends.”
At a donor conference for the Republic of Moldova, financial aid of at least 600 million euros was collected. That’s what Romania’s Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said on Friday in Bucharest at a press conference with Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens). However, the inventory of the promised aid is not yet complete, Aurescu said.
The small former Soviet republic of Moldova lies between Ukraine and Romania and has had EU candidate status since June. The war in Ukraine triggered a refugee crisis and economic problems in Moldova, Aurescu said. A first donor conference for Moldova was held in Berlin in April.