Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated the pause after the EU’s latest sanctions package against Russia has lasted too long, saying such pauses increase the time of Russian aggression.
Zelenskyy made these comments in an address to EU foreign ministers gathered in Kyiv for a historic joint meeting, the European Pravda news outlet reported.
The president stressed that sanctions pressure on Russia is obviously insufficient, evidenced by the growing number of Russian drone and missile strikes.
“There needs to be more joint work against any forms and schemes of Russia circumventing sanctions. Any supply to Russia that enables it to increase military production must stop. This is a clear interest not only of Ukraine but of everyone in the world who wants this war to end sooner,” Zelenskyy said.
He also called for intensifying work on a new EU sanctions package.
“Any sanction pauses increase the time of Russian aggression, and the pause after the 11th sanctions package has already lasted too long,” Zelenskyy stated.
In particular, he said sanctions are needed against Russia’s nuclear industry over actions at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and as a security step against “questionable” Russian nuclear technologies.
“It is also important to expand sanctions against Iran in critical industries, including the import of equipment and chemicals. Every Iranian attack drone that hits European cities in Ukraine is a reason for sanctions pressure,” Ukraine’s President empathized.
According to Bloomberg, EU member states may begin discussing a new, twelfth package of sanctions on Russia in October over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The new sanctions could include previously announced restrictions on the diamond trade that the G7 plans to impose.
“The new measures, which could be presented as early as next month, would likely include the EU’s version of the upcoming G-7 ban [on purchasing Russian diamonds] and possibly a long-awaited proposal to use the profits generated by frozen central bank assets to aid Kyiv, according to people familiar with discussions,” Bloomberg says.
The package may be adopted in early October or announced during the EU-US summit scheduled for October.
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