The German chancellor has said the European Union will impose fresh punitive measures against Russia on the first anniversary of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Olaf Scholz.PAP/Abaca/AA/ABACA
Olaf Scholz made the declaration in the German parliament on Wednesday evening, The New Voice of Ukraine has reported.
The chancellor vowed the EU would support Ukraine “for as long as necessary.”
His words came on the eve of an extraordinary two-day European Council summit in Brussels, Belgium.
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Thursday that during the meeting with fellow EU national leaders in the Belgian capital, he would push for a new, 10th round of sanctions against Russia.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky also arrived at the Brussels summit, after visiting London and Paris for talks with British, French and German leaders on Wednesday.
Zelensky was expected to ask EU leaders for more long-range rocket artillery systems, tanks, planes and ammunition, according to news reports.
UK slaps new sanctions on Russia
On Wednesday, to mark Zelensky’s visit, Britain announced a new round of sanctions on „Russian military and Kremlin elites,” including six entities providing military equipment such as drones for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Reuters news agency reported.
The punitive measures were also directed against eight individuals and one entity connected to financial networks that help „maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites”, the UK government said in a statement, as quoted by Reuters.
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Source: The New Voice of Ukraine, Reuters, consilium.europa.eu