EU Slaps Sanctions On Top Russia Officials, Banks, Trade  

 

• The European Union agreed Saturday to impose new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine targeting more officials and organizations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda, or supplying drones, as well as restricting trade on products that could be used by the armed forces.
• Asset freezes were slapped on three more Russian banks and seven Iranian “entities” — companies, agencies, political parties, or other organizations — that manufacture military drones, which the EU suspects have been used by Russia during the war.
• Russia’s energy sector was hit, too — notably oil and coal — and the bloc, through its own measures and political decisions combined with retaliation from Moscow, was rapidly weaned off its dependence on Russian natural gas.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the new package in his nightly address on Saturday. “Sanctions will continue to be introduced so that nothing remains of the potential of Russian aggression,” he said.
• The sanctions are meant to undermine Russia’s economy and drain funds for its war effort, but they are also increasingly inflicting pain on European economies already hit by high inflation and energy prices and still suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

(Source: AP News)