The European Union unanimously agreed on a new package of sanctions against Russia in coordination with such partners as the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada.
“Russia has breached the international agreements and commitments underpinning the path of dialogue and peaceful settlement of the conflict. Russia has also violated Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders. Russian troops have already been sent to Donbass. And maybe this is not the end. We must act now, in close coordination with our partners —the U.S., the United Kingdom and Canada — deterring further escalation through our actions. Our response must be just as promised: swift, ruthless, and have severe consequences for Russia. Today, we agreed on sanctions targeting individuals and companies that have contributed to the recognition of the so-called DNR and LNR regions of Ukraine, but we also need to keep in mind the sectoral sanctions against Russia," said the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Gabrielius Landsbergis, who also called on partners to start preparing a new package of sectoral sanctions, if the situation escalated.
The new package comprises sanctions against individuals who have been involved in the process of making the illegal decision to recognise the non-government controlled areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine as independent, and financial institutions which are financing the Russian military and other operations. The EU has also prohibited relations between its business and the so-called “people’s republics” in Donetsk and Luhansk, and decided to limit Russia’s access to EU financial market and capital market.
