The sanctions of the European Union against Russia, accused by the West of fomenting and supporting the war of separatists in eastern Ukraine, will be published tomorrow. This is foreseen by the agreement reached between the 28 EU countries. The package of measures was formally adopted on Monday, but publication was suspended.
Among the measures there would be a tightening on access to European financial markets for a number of Russian companies and banks, a limitation on the export of Russian technological goods and individual measures towards some senior Russian officials, with the limitation of their movements in Europe and the asset freeze.
For its part, Russia has already prepared new retaliations: after the import of agri-food products, this time Moscow is targeting the import of cars and light industrial products. This was confirmed by Andrei Belousov, adviser to the Kremlin.
The restrictions on the import of industrial goods would especially affect exports from Germany and Italy, which see machinery among the main export items to Russia. The new EU measures, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry, represent "an absolutely unfriendly line" and "contradict the interests of the European Union itself".
Meanwhile, during the night the truce was violated in eastern Ukraine: a series of artillery shells fell on Donetsk, according to what was announced by the city council. NATO has announced that, according to the information in its possession, there are "about a thousand" Russian soldiers still present in eastern Ukraine, while about 20 soldiers are immediately beyond the Russian side of the border. And Moscow's warning arrives: the joint NATO-Kiev exercises "could jeopardize progress in the peace agreement", warns the Russian Foreign Ministry.
