European Commission: New sanctions drain Russia's war arsenal and economy
The European Union has vowed to increase pressure on Moscow "until Ukraine is liberated" as it approved a tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Saturday, a day after the first anniversary of the war between the two countries, Al-Qahera News reported.
"We now have the most severe sanctions ever, draining Russia's military arsenal and eating away at its economy," said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, adding that the bloc is increasing pressure on those trying to circumvent EU sanctions.
Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, warned that the bloc will continue to impose more sanctions on Moscow. The latest sanctions target the banking sector, Moscow's access to technology that can be used for peaceful and military purposes, and advanced technologies.
The package adds to the list of prohibited exports electronic components used in Russian weapons systems on the battlefield, including drones, missiles and helicopters, as well as electronic integrated circuits and thermal cameras, and imposes stricter restrictions on 96 other entities due to the support of the Russian military and industrial complex, including For the first time, seven Iranian entities manufacture military drones used by Moscow.
Additional restrictions were imposed on imports of goods that generate significant revenue for Russia such as asphalt and synthetic rubber, and EU member states agreed on the sanctions late on Friday, after a last-minute spat, with Poland briefly preventing things from going as planned.
Warsaw said that the proposed restrictions on the European Union's imports of Russian rubber include a large share of exempted imports and very long transition periods, to the extent that they have no practical effect, and the imposition of sanctions requires the approval of all member states, which means that negotiations between the twenty-seven countries In the conglomerate they are often drawn out and painstaking.