The EU targets everyone involved in recognizing secession in Donetsk and Lugansk. The stop for Nord Stream 2 also shows how deep the rift between the West and the Kremlin is.
Entry bans and asset freezes against almost all members of the Russian parliament and three dozen Russian officials and officers, a total economic blockade of the breakaway “People’s Republics” of Donetsk and Lugansk, a ban on trading in Russian government bonds and restrictions on Russian banks’ access to the EU financial market: The first wave of European Union sanctions over Russia’s illegal recognition of these two separatist Ukrainian regions was launched Tuesday with remarkably little resistance from traditionally pro-Russian member states Hungary, Austria, Italy and Germany.
“The dynamic is different now,” said an EU ambassador to the “press”, referring to the aggressive speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday evening, in which he denied Ukraine’s right to exist. “No one can afford to stop this now. You would be on the wrong side of history.” According to the current EU Council Presidency, the sanctions are to come into force on Wednesday. The French presidency announced on Tuesday evening that the technical and legal checks that were still necessary would take place overnight.