Sybiha: EU should impose sanctions on Russia after every massive strike, not wait for packages
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on the EU to impose sanctions on Russia immediately after each massive strike rather than waiting for large sanctions packages. EU ambassadors again failed on Friday to agree on extending personal sanctions.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said at a joint press briefing with Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski in Kyiv that Ukraine has shared with its partners information on how Russia uses components manufactured in Western countries, including in Europe, to produce ballistic missiles and drones.
Sybiha stressed that Ukraine's partners should not wait a long time for large sanctions packages to be approved. In his view, sanctions against the aggressor state should be adopted after every massive strike on Ukraine, including within the framework of the so-called "Anti-Ballistic Package."
The minister said Ukraine's partners need to strip Russia of its capacity to produce ballistic weapons and drones, as well as restrict its access to military technologies. According to Sybiha, there remains significant untapped potential in this area.
He noted that Russia has learned to circumvent sanctions and continues to use components manufactured in Western and European countries in the production of both ballistic missiles and drones. Ukraine has passed this information on to its European partners.
Extension of sanctions stalled
Meanwhile, EU member state ambassadors again failed on Friday to agree on extending personal sanctions over Russia's aggression, as two EU capitals are demanding changes to the lists of sanctioned individuals.
Personal sanctions were previously extended on March 14. At that time as well, Slovakia pushed until the last moment to have Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov removed from the list.
