new York Ahead of the May 9 Victory Day celebrations in Moscow, the US and the other G7 countries are imposing new sanctions on Russia over the war of aggression against Ukraine. This was announced by the White House in Washington on Sunday.
The heads of government of the G7 countries had previously spoken to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a switching conference. According to the US government, the punitive measures are aimed, among other things, at the important Russian energy sector.
The group of seven leading democratic industrial nations includes the NATO states USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany as well as Japan.
In a joint statement, the G7 states announced further support for Ukraine and condemned Russia. “We are appalled by the massive loss of life, the attack on human rights and the destruction wrought by Russia’s actions in Ukraine.”
Oil import ban agreed
In a first reaction to the new sanctions, the price of oil fell on Monday night. US crude oil WTI neared $109 a barrel after hitting a six-week high on Friday. Experts expect further price declines as the G7 deal is likely to increase pressure on Moscow. The Russian state budget depends on income from raw material exports.
Map of combat operations (as of May 7, 2022)
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in a first reaction to the group’s plan: “It is an extremely difficult decision for a country that imports most of its energy.” But it is a time when the unity of the G7 is more important than everything else.
The EU countries are also negotiating an oil embargo against Russia and other punitive measures in Brussels. There was recently a dispute about exceptions to the import ban for countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
A meeting of the 27 representatives of the EU ended on Sunday without an agreement. Talks are expected to continue this week. A ban on the transport of Russian oil to third countries is also under discussion.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Twitter after the switchover: “We have agreed to increase our economic and military support for Ukraine.” There was also agreement “that more needs to be done to ensure and ensure food security that agricultural exports [die Ukraine] being able to leave.”
Increased military support
The G7 countries have also agreed on further military support for Ukraine. Sunday’s statement said: “We will continue our ongoing military and defense assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, continue to assist Ukraine in protecting its data networks from cyberattacks and expand our cooperation, including in the area of information security.” Support Ukraine in 2022 with more than 24 billion dollars.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended the G7 session from Kyiv, where he had arrived for an unannounced visit. “With the end of World War II, peace, justice, and liberty prevailed,” Trudeau declared.
Canada’s Prime Minister added, “77 years later, we must once again defend these values and stand up against violent aggression – for Ukraine, for Europe and for the world.” The Canadian government announced a new $50 million in arms sales to Ukraine at.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a surprise visit to Ukraine on Sunday.
(Photo: via REUTERS)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed Russia’s President Vladimir Putin directly on the day of victory over Nazi Germany. “I call on President Putin once again on May 9 to end the war immediately, withdraw his troops from Ukraine and start peace negotiations,” he told the newspaper “Welt”.
US President Joe Biden stressed in a statement after the G7 switching conference the “iron unity and determination to further strengthen Ukraine and to increase the pressure on Putin”.
The western allies are tightening the punitive measures.
(Photo: dpa)
Support also came from US First Lady Jill Biden. Surprisingly, she drove from Slovakia to the Ukrainian border town of Uzhgorod, where she met the wife of the Ukrainian President, Olena Zelenska. “I wanted to come on Mother’s Day,” Jill Biden said. “It’s important to show the Ukrainian people that the American people stand by the Ukrainian people.”
More extensive US sanctions
In their statement, the G7 states announced that they would be tackling further sanctions against Russia in addition to the oil import ban. This includes banning “the provision of essential services on which Russia depends”, “measures against Russian banks”, stopping Russian propaganda and measures against the Russian “financial elites and family members who support President Putin in his war effort.”
What that means in concrete terms was left open in the statement. A US government official gave the first details of his own measures on Sunday. Accordingly, the US prohibits services in the field of accounting, management, consulting or marketing for companies or individuals in Russia. This includes, for example, the large US auditing and consulting firms. You are no longer allowed to be active in Russia.
In addition, the US intends to impose sanctions on three of the main television channels directly or indirectly controlled by President Putin’s government: Pervy Kanal. Rossiya-1 and NTV. Advertising orders from the USA should not be placed with these “Kremlin mouthpieces”, nor should US technology be supplied for broadcasting.
The US official said the US would further tighten its export controls to weaken Russia’s war effort. Wood products, industrial engines and clearing vehicles are affected. In addition, sanctions would be imposed on managers of the largest and third largest Russian banks, Sberbank and Gazprombank. “The message is that if Putin’s invasion continues, there will be no safe haven for the Russian economy.”
The White House said: “Our unprecedented sanctions are already taking an immense toll on Russia’s economy.” The export controls would cut Russia off from important technology. “Putin’s war is expected to erase the economic gains of the past 15 years in Russia.”
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Two important Russian tank factories stopped work because they lacked foreign components. Almost 1000 companies left Russia. “Putin did not achieve his original military goal of dominating Ukraine – but he managed to make Russia a global pariah.”
Russian threat
New threats came from Moscow on Sunday, apparently also in response to the actions of the West. A Russian government official declared that “the NATO countries will be annihilated by Russia in half an hour” if the conflict escalates through the use of nuclear weapons.
At the same time, Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos and former Deputy Prime Minister, emphasized that such an event “cannot be allowed because the consequences will affect the entire earth”.
The World War II End Parade, which Russia celebrates on May 9 every year, marks the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany. Supersonic aircraft, Tu-160 bombers and the Ilyushin Il-80 will also be on display at the military show. This is known as Russia’s “doomsday plane” – and is intended to bring the Kremlin’s top leadership to safety in the event of a nuclear war.
The World War II End Parade, which Russia celebrates on May 9 every year, marks the 77th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
(Photo: AP)
In the sky over Red Square, eight Russian warplanes are said to form the letter “Z,” the symbol for “military special operations.” The Kremlin has officially dismissed fears that Putin could officially declare a state of war and call for general mobilization so that his military could make headway.
Because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, western states have already imposed tough sanctions on Russia. Germany currently holds the G7 presidency and is hosting the group’s next summit in Bavaria at the end of June. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also defended German military aid to Ukraine on Sunday, citing the lessons of World War II as a reason: “Putin will not win the war.”
With agency material.
More: You can follow the current developments in the Ukraine war in our news blog.