The European Union has proposed new sanctions against Russia following reports of civilian deaths in seized Ukrainian towns.
The measures include a ban on the importation of coal.
In order for the proposed sanctions to become law, member states of the European Union will be required to approve them. The proposed sanctions will stop the import and export of products worth 9 billion euros and 10 billion euros respectively, and also prevent Russian ships from entering EU ports.
Read Also: Germany Says That Russia Must Pay For ‘War Crimes’ In Bucha
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, stated that there are plans to ban oil imports as well.
She wrote on Twitter: “We all saw the gruesome pictures from Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left. These atrocities cannot and will not be left unanswered”.
Vitali Klitschko, the Kiev mayor, called for the severing of all ties with Russia in order to stem the flow of “bloody money” hours earlier.
There are a number of horrific images emerging from the Bucha near Kiev region since the Russian assault shifted from the north to the south and east, including a mass grave and bound bodies of people shot at close range, sparking calls for tougher action against Moscow and a more comprehensive investigation.
German, French, and Italian diplomatic missions have expelled Russian diplomats, and Russia has threatened to retaliate.
On the 24th of February, Russia, which says it has launched a “special military operation” in Ukraine to demilitarize and “denazify” its neighbour, denied targeting civilians and described the deaths as a “monstrous forgery” staged by the West in order to discredit Russia.
Russia’s economy has been battered by sanctions, but Ukraine says more needs to be done to starve Russia’s war machine.
A video link from Klitschko to an international conference in Geneva stated, “Every euro, every cent that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is bloody money and the blood of this money is Ukrainian blood, the blood of Ukrainian people”.
A total ban on Russian energy, which Ukraine states is necessary to force a peace agreement, has been deemed a substantial economic risk by the European Union.
Natural gas from Russia accounts for about third of Europe’s gas needs.
Annalena Baerbock, German Foreign Minister, stated that the coal ban marks the beginning of an EU-wide ban on all imports of fossil fuels from Russia.
AFRICA TODAY NEWS, NEW YORK