New US, EU sanctions on Russia for war crimes
The United States and the European Union plan to impose stiff new sanctions against Russia in retaliation for its “war crimes” in Ukraine after revelations of atrocities in towns near Kyiv.
The new penalties by the U.S. and its allies, which will be announced Wednesday, include a ban on new investment in Russia and are intended in part to “impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia.”
The European Union’s executive branch on Tuesday proposed a ban on coal imports from Russia, in what would be the first sanctions targeting Moscow’s lucrative energy income for its war in Ukraine. The coal imports amount to an estimated 4 billion euros ($4.4 billion) per year.
“Today we are proposing a 5th package of sanctions. To take a clear stand is crucial for the whole world,” the E.U. Commission said in a Twitter post. “A clear stand against Putin’s war of choice. Against the massacre of civilians.”
The news comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the U.N. Security Council earlier Tuesday that the U.N. must bring war crimes charges against Russian leaders.
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Latest developments
►French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Tuesday there is a “total determination” from all 27 E.U. countries for more severe sanctions targeting oil and coal. Europe’s dependence on Russian oil, natural gas and coal had left energy sanctions off the table amid fears the entire continent could plunge into recession.
►The Czech Republic is shipping old Soviet-built infantry vehicles and tanks to Ukraine, Czech lawmaker Ondrej Benesik said in a Twitter post. The Czech Republic is the first country to provide tanks to Ukraine.
►The Feldman Ecopark, a zoo and park outside Kharkiv, has been destroyed by Russian troops, and large animals will be put to sleep because there is no way to evacuate or transport them, park founder Oleksandr Feldman said. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, is about 40 miles from the Russian border and has been battered by Russian missile strikes.
►Italy, Spain and Denmark have joined Germany and France in expelling dozens of Russian diplomats, some of the countries suggesting they were spies.
►Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, addressing a mayors forum organized by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, urged countries to halt all business with Russia “because every euro, every cent, they receive from Russians – or what you send to Russia – has the blood of Ukrainians on it.”
Biden to ban investment in Russia as part of new sanctions package
The Biden administration will announce new sanctions Wednesday that include a ban on new investment in Russia in response to atrocities in the Ukrainian town of Bucha that “show further evidence of war crimes,” according to sources familiar with the decision.
The penalties, made in coordination with G7 and European Union allies, also involve increased sanctions on financial institutions and state-owned enterprises and also on Russian government officials and their family members.
A Biden administration official said the measures are designed to “degrade key instruments of Russian state power, impose acute and immediate economic harm on Russia, and hold accountable the Russian kleptocracy that funds and supports Putin’s war.”
As a result of sanctions on Russia following President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s economy is forecast to contract as much as 15% or more in 2022, according to the official.
“The financial system in Russia is near the brink of collapse,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, defending the effectiveness of sanctions to date. “It is more and more difficult for President Putin to fund this war every single day. That has an impact.”
Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial for Putin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy detailed the carnage in towns around Kyiv during an address to NATO on Tuesday, accusing Russian troops of killing “entire families, adults and children.”
— Joey Garrison
Milley urges US to build new bases in Eastern Europe
The U.S. should establish permanent bases with rotating forces in new Eastern European locations as a hedge against Russian aggression, the top U.S military officer told Congress on Tuesday.
Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the bases could be funded by other countries such as Poland and the Baltic nations — Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — that want more U.S. troops to provide protection from Russia. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said any effort to expand security in Eastern Europe is a “work in progress” that probably will be discussed at the NATO summit in June.
“I believe that a lot of our European allies, especially those such as the Baltics or Poland and Romania,…