Strict International Sanctions against Russia and EU Arms Shipments for Ukraine

The European Union has taken the unprecedented step of allowing arms shipments to Ukraine following Russia's invasion.

At a press conference, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the move marked a “turning point” in EU history.

As part of sanctions against Russia yesterday, the EU has closed its airspace to Russian planes and will ban some Russian state media.

“We are closing EU airspace to Russian-owned or registered Russian-controlled aircraft,” von der Leyen said.

“All such planes, including the private planes of oligarchs, will no longer be able to land, take off or fly over any EU country,” she added.

Russian planes were banned from entering the airspace of the United Kingdom and Canada.

The EU's ban on state news agencies will affect the Sputnik news agency and the Russia Today television network, which is considered a Kremlin mouthpiece. “We are developing tools to ban their toxic and harmful misinformation in Europe,” said von der Leyen.

EU countries will also speed up the process of accepting Ukrainian refugees and put aside the usual bureaucracy.

The move was officially announced by the German interior minister, who said the member states had agreed unanimously to accept refugees for up to three years without requiring them to apply for asylum first.

Tens of thousands of Ukrainians have been displaced since the Russian attack on their country, and many are seeking asylum in the EU.

Russia's central bank has called for calm amid fears that new financial sanctions could trigger mass withdrawals from banks.

The Russian Ruble Collapsed by 30% against the Dollar

They said they “have the necessary resources and tools to maintain financial stability and ensure the operational continuity of the financial sector”.

The EU, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada have announced that Russia's central bank assets will be frozen. Some Russian banks will also be excluded from the Swift payment system.

On Friday, Russia's central bank was forced to increase the amount of money it supplies to ATMs after the demand for cash reached its highest level since March 2020.

/BGNES

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