Ursula von der Leyen – Photo © European Union 2022
(BRUSSELS) – With the war in Ukraine raging, the European Union stepped up late Sunday evening with a EUR 450m package of lethal weapons and new sanctions to counter the brutal Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Following the fourth foreign affairs Council in a week, EU ministers gave their support and political agreement to a package of support to the Ukrainian armed forces. They also agreed new sanctions, diplomatic engagements designed to isolate Russia, and measures to support Ukraine and the region, as well as measures to counter disinformation.
The EU has moved speedily, and is looking for some decisions to be in place, agreed and with a Legal Act implementing them before Monday when the Central Banks restart work.
The EU is to use its capacities to provide lethal arms and lethal assistance to the Ukrainian army for a value of EUR 450 million support package and also another EUR 50 million for non-lethal supplies such as fuel and protective equipment.
“For the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack,” said the European Commission’s president Ursula von der Leyen: “This is a watershed moment.”
The EU is shutting down the EU’s airspace for Russians, with a proposal for the prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. Russian aircraft will no longer be able to land in, take off or overfly EU territory.
This, says the EU, will apply to any plane owned, chartered or otherwise controlled by a Russian legal or natural person.
“So let me be very clear” said Ms von der Leyen: “Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane – and that includes the private jets of oligarchs. Second, in another unprecedented step, we will ban in the EU the Kremlin’s media machine. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to saw division in our Union.
On sanctions, the EU has agreed to increase the number of people and entities that are going to be subject to restrictive measures. This includes Russian oligarchs and businessmen, whose listing carries huge economic impact, and political figures who hold key roles on Putin’s system in Russia – both the ones who disseminate propaganda and military. The full list is set to be finalised and published tomorrow.
The EU has also announced that it is developing tools to ban ‘toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe’. Disinformation is becoming massive, it says, shifting to ‘full-fledged war propaganda’. The EU will ban ‘Russia Today’ and ‘Sputnik’ from broadcasting in the European Union – “because they are the champions of information manipulation”.
Regarding Lukashenko’s regime, seen as complicit in the vicious attack against Ukraine, it will also be hit with a new package of sanctions against key sectors stopping Belarus’ exports of products from mineral fuels to tobacco, wood and timber, cement, iron and steel.
Export restrictions introduced on dual-use goods for Russia will also extend to Belarus – to also avoid any risks of circumvention of the EU’s measures against Russia. Belarusians helping the Russian war effort will also be sanctioned.
The measures come on top of the package presented yesterday, agreed by international partners.
Under this package, EU ministers have reached an agreement to take out of SWIFT a certain number of Russian banks and impose restrictive measures that are aimed at paralysing the assets of the Russian Central Bank.
About half of the financial reserves of the Russian Central Bank will be frozen. Because they are held in banks of the G7 countries, and this represents, more or less, half of the reserves of the Russian government. This will be frozen, and this is going to be affecting much of the financial system of Russia.
The EU praises the leadership and bravery of Ukraine president Zelensky and “the resilience of the Ukrainian people are outstanding and impressive”, and “an inspiration to us all”.
The EU adds that it will welcome with open arms those Ukrainians who have to flee from Russian bombs, and commits to support people affected by the conflict in need of humanitarian assistance, and trying to escape the war.
