As of: February 13, 2024, 1:40 p.m
By: Bona Hyun
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Split
The sanctions against Russia should be even stronger.
A former NATO general advises the West what could bring Vladimir Putin to his knees.
Moscow – Are the sanctions imposed against Russia failing?
Economists agree that Russia could be fought with stronger measures.
Tougher sanctions would probably not force Vladimir Putin to end the war immediately, says former NATO general Anders Fogh Rasmussen.
Nevertheless, they are crucial to a Ukrainian victory – and another effective tool to weaken Russia.
Russia sanctions in the Ukraine war: According to the ex-NATO general, the West must intervene harder
Despite Western export controls on military goods, Russia has apparently ramped up arms production in all areas.
According to Ukrainian information, important military components are also arriving in Russia despite Western sanctions.
The value of these products for the first ten months of 2023 is almost three billion dollars, reported
Deutschlandfunk (DLF)
, citing Ukrainian information.
The West must tighten sanctions.
The move could bring a Ukrainian victory closer.
© Planet Pix Pool via ZUMA Press Wire /dpa/ ITAR-TASS/imago
An analysis by the Kyiv School of Economics found that nearly 2,500 Western components were included in destroyed or captured Russian weapons, including hypersonic weapons.
Rasmussen, in an article in the
Financial Times,
calls for the West to intervene much more strongly or impose further sanctions to prevent Western components from reaching Russia.
Tougher sanctions against Putin for Ukrainian victory: Out for Russian oil and gas
Another point Rasmussen mentions is a tightening of sanctions against the Russian energy sector.
Because of the war in Ukraine, the EU decided to forgo Russian crude oil.
The oil embargo prohibits, among other things, the purchase, import or transfer of crude oil and certain petroleum products by sea from Russia to the EU.
Now, according to Rasmussen, the West needs to put even more pressure on companies like Gazprom and its subsidiaries.
Tougher action must be taken against countries that help Russian oil reach global markets, writes Rasmussen at the
Financial Times.
The Federal Ministry of Economics is apparently already considering steps to seal the end of Russian oil for Germany: According to insiders, Minister Robert Habeck wants the German subsidiary
of the Russian Rosneft group.
Sanctions in the Ukraine War: Is it possible to use Russian assets for Ukraine?
Rasmussen also advocates using the frozen Russian assets to rebuild Ukraine.
These were frozen as a result of the EU sanctions.
According to estimates, the EU has set aside around 300 billion euros in Russian central bank reserves; around two thirds of this asset is located within the EU, according to
Tagesschau
.
The money still belongs to Moscow, the Kremlin just cannot dispose of it freely and continue to use it to finance the war of aggression.
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Now the EU may have paved a way for the use of Russian assets on Monday (February 12).
According to the German Press Agency (dpa),
the EU Council has
adopted two legal texts for this.
Among other things, they regulate that extraordinary income from the custody of the central bank must be kept separately in the future.
In a second step, it is planned to provide income for the reconstruction of Ukraine, which was attacked by Russia.
What sanctions has the West already imposed against Russia?
The EU has imposed a series of sanctions against Russia in response to the war in Ukraine and the illegal annexation of the Ukrainian regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
In addition to the oil embargo and the freezing of Russian assets, economic sanctions also include import and export restrictions against Russia.
European companies are therefore not allowed to sell certain products to Russia and Russian companies are not allowed to sell certain products to the EU.
The EU has also banned the provision of certain business-related services to the Russian government or to legal entities established in Russia, such as companies and other organizations or bodies.
End of the Ukraine War: Fight Russia's economy more strongly with sanctions
In recent days, several reports have said that the Russian economy has grown strongly despite Western sanctions against Russia.
Weeks before the Russian presidential election, the state statistics agency Rosstat said that the Russian economy grew by 3.6 percent compared to 2022.
Prices for eggs and eggs should also have fallen.
However, such information should always be viewed with caution.
(bohy)