"Hit hard": Ukrainian foreign minister identifies weaknesses for sanctions

Created: 02/23/2022Updated: 02/23/2022 10:33 am

By: Tanja Koch

US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are adversaries in the Ukraine crisis.

© Jim Watson, Grigory Dukro/AFP

Europe and the USA are reacting to the recent escalation in the Ukraine conflict with sanctions against Russia.

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• Russia* has recognized Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine* as independent and ordered the invasion of troops.

• America and Europe are imposing sanctions, such as trade restrictions.

• Tougher penalties are conceivable if Vladimir Putin* escalates the conflict further.

Update from Wednesday, February 23, 2022, 10:30 a.m .:

Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Minister of Ukraine, has called for tougher sanctions against Russia.

On Wednesday morning he published a statement on Twitter in which he identified, among other things, the Russian economy as a weak point.

"Hit hard," appealed to NATO and the United States.

First report from Wednesday, February 23rd, 2022, 10:00 a.m.:

Washington/Brussels/Moscow – The USA* and Europe are imposing a package of sanctions because Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin has recognized the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine as independent and troops in the sent to the region.

The EU measures are scheduled to come into force on Wednesday (February 23, 2022).

The sanctions are aimed at 27 other people and organizations against the 351 members of the Russian parliament who voted to recognize the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Luhansk and Donetsk.

In addition, Russia's access to EU financial markets is to be curtailed and EU trade with the breakaway regions restricted.

For the time being there should probably be no EU sanctions against Putin personally.

This was confirmed by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday evening (February 22, 2022) after a special meeting of EU foreign ministers in Paris.

The background is that you want to have further measures in reserve.

Ukraine conflict: USA also imposes economic sanctions

The federal government, in turn, put the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline on hold for the time being.

As a result, Putin first has to write off billion-euro businesses.

Great Britain and Canada also announced sanctions against Russia because of the Ukraine conflict.

The US government announced penalties against two major Russian banks, against trading in Russian government bonds and against supporters of Putin and their families.

Joe Biden* stressed that the US was prepared to impose even tougher sanctions if Russia continued to escalate the conflict with Ukraine.

Biden expects a large-scale attack on neighboring Ukraine*.

A US government official warned that "no Russian financial institution is safe" in this case.

There could also be export controls.

An exclusion of Russia from the international payment system Swift is also conceivable in the event of an escalation.

Ukraine conflict intensifies: USA cancels talks

In addition to the economic sanctions, the Americans also declared that planned high-level diplomatic talks with the Russian government were lapsed for the time being.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that against the background of the recent escalation of the Ukraine conflict, the talks with his Russian colleague Sergei Lavrov, which were actually planned for this week in Geneva, made no sense.

In principle, the US government is still ready for diplomatic talks.

However, the Russian government must show that it is serious.

"The past 24 hours have shown the opposite."

Blinken and Lavrov's meeting should have been in preparation for a face-to-face meeting between Biden and Putin.

However, this has been canceled for the time being, as White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki explained.

Now, with Putin pushing ahead with the invasion of a sovereign country, is not the right time for such a meeting, she said.

(Tanja Koch/dpa)