The Russian Foreign Ministry announced the “illegitimate and unreasonable nature” of the initial package of EU sanctions against Russia. This was announced on Thursday, February 24, in a statement posted on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry after a meeting between the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the EU Vladimir Chizhov and Secretary General of the EU Foreign Service Stefano Sannino.
It is noted that during the conversation, Chizhov outlined Russian assessments of the situation around the Ukrainian crisis, and explained the reasons that required the leadership of the Russian Federation to make a decision to recognize the independence of the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, and then to conduct a special military operation.
Sannino, in turn, referred to a statement issued earlier on the same day by the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, and the “primary” package of unilateral restrictive measures adopted by the European Union, adding that at the upcoming European Council meeting on the evening of February 24, “the situation in Ukraine and Russia-EU relations will be the subject of careful discussion with the possible adoption of a political decision on the introduction of additional restrictions.
“The Russian side emphasized the illegitimate and unjustified nature of such unilateral measures, which can only aggravate the already difficult situation in Russian-EU relations. The partners were warned that such a line would inevitably meet with reciprocal steps from the Russian side,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Earlier in the day, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that the leaders of the EU countries at an extraordinary summit agreed to impose additional sanctions against Russia. The restrictions will affect the financial sector, the energy and transport sectors, dual-use goods, as well as export control and financing, he said. Sanctions will also be imposed on Russian visa policy. In addition, additional Russian individuals will be included in the lists of restrictions.
On February 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in his special televised address, announced that a special operation would be carried out in the Donbass in order to protect the civilian population. After that, Vladimir Zelensky accused Russia of hitting the country’s military infrastructure and introduced martial law throughout the country.
The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that the army did not carry out air missile or artillery strikes on the cities of Ukraine. They stressed that nothing threatens the civilian population of the country. High-precision weapons destroy military infrastructure: military airfields, aviation, air defense facilities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The situation in Donbass escalated on February 17. The DPR and LPR reported heavy shelling by Ukrainian security forces, including from heavy weapons. The republics announced a general mobilization and evacuation of civilians to the territory of Russia.
Since 2014, the Kiev authorities have been conducting a military operation against the inhabitants of Donbass, who refused to recognize the results of the coup d’état and the new government in Ukraine. At the same time, Kiev blames Moscow for the current situation. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is not a party to the conflict.