EU mulls new sanctions on Russia on anniversary of Ukraine invasion

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced Thursday (February 2) from kyiv that the EU is planning new sanctions against Russia on the anniversary of the February 24 invasion of Ukraine. .

“By February 24, exactly one year after the start of the invasion, we aim to put in place the tenth sanctions package”she announced at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“Today, Russia is paying a heavy price as our sanctions are eroding its economy, setting it back a generation”she welcomed, while Brussels has put in place for almost a year a rain of sanctions to limit the income of Moscow intended to support its invasion.

Effective Russian oil price cap?

Among them, one of the most striking measures is the capping of the price of Russian oil for export at 60 dollars. According to Ursula von der Leyen, this limitation set at the beginning of December by the European Union, the G7 and Australia, “already costs Russia about 160 million euros a day”.

In early December, the EU also implemented an embargo on Russian crude oil transported by sea. This will extend from Sunday to the purchase of Russian refined petroleum products and the G7 countries will also cap the price of these products.

Asked moreover about recent anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine, a key issue for the country in the midst of war and for its future membership of the EU, Ursula von der Leyen welcomed, alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, the reaction politically quick so that this struggle has “tangible results”. “I am reassured to see the anti-corruption bodies on alert and quickly detecting cases of corruption”she rejoiced.

Several corruption cases

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian authorities carried out searches in the homes of personalities, including a known oligarch, and in administrations in connection with cases of corruption, an evil which is eating away at the country.

The raids came a week after a string of senior officials were sacked over a corruption scandal involving army supplies, the first scandal of this magnitude since the start of the Russian invasion.

Brussels, whose financial aid to kyiv has been significant for almost a year, has made the fight against corruption a major criterion if Ukraine wants to hope one day to enter the European bloc. Moreover, the United States and the Europeans would take a very dim view if military or financial aid to the Ukrainian war effort could be diverted.