Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the West to impose more sanctions against Russia to force it to end the war.
In an address to the Greek parliament, he stressed that Western countries must impose an embargo on Russian oil and sever ties between the international banking system and Russian banks, according to Reuters reporting on Thursday.
Zelenskyy asserted that governments should put their economic concerns aside and prioritize punishing Russia, stressing that “once and for all, we can teach Russia and any other potential aggressors that those who choose war always lose.”
The US imposed an embargo on Russian oil in March and put in place additional sanctions on Wednesday, targeting Russian banks and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s family.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, announced at a NATO meeting that the bloc would impose more sanctions against Russia, noting that member states will discuss the proposed oil embargo.
Ukraine accused Russia of war crimes in the Kiev region, upping pressure on Western countries to impose more sanctions, while Moscow rejects the accusations and claims that images from Bucha were staged.
Lack of unity
While Russian officials noted that the economy is in a difficult position due to Western sanctions, the EU is struggling to reach an agreement on an energy embargo.
Russian imports account for roughly 30% of the bloc’s crude oil imports and approximately 40% of natural gas consumption.
According to an EU source, approval of the latest package of measures against Russia was delayed because Germany asked for more time to process an embargo on Russian coal.
The bloc could approve the package this week, but it would not come into effect until August, which is one month later than originally proposed.
Speaking after a meeting of foreign ministers, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that alliance members agreed to provide more support to Ukraine.
Kiev insists that the only way to stop the war in Ukraine is to starve Russia’s war machine. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have yielded little thus far and both sides accuse each other of standing in the way of progress.
