The EU imposed a new package of sanctions on Russia, expanding trade and personal bans related to Moscow’s annexation of 4 Ukrainian provinces.
While Yale University, one of the oldest universities in the U.S., believed that the russia’s economy was hit hard by Western sanctions and international businesses pulled out of the market.
Russian officials, meanwhile, acknowledge the economy is struggling, but insist Moscow is up against Western sanctions, while Russia seems to have focus or moving trade relationship away from west.
The eighth sanctions package was published on the European Commission’s website today and takes effect immediately in response to Russia for its “aggression against Ukraine, the holding of fake referendums and the illegal annexation of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia provinces, as well as Moscow’s partial mobilization orders and repeated threats to use destructive weapons.”
Under the new sanctions package, the European Union (EU) imposed a sweeping ban on the provision of cryptocurrency services to people Russia.
“The current bans on cryptocurrencies have been tightened by banning all wallets, accounts, or services related to crypto assets, regardless of the number of wallets,” according to the announcement.
After Visa and Mastercard left the Russian market earlier this year and several banks were excluded from the SWIFT global financial system, cryptocurrencies, especially stablecoin USDT, have become one of the most popular ways for Russians to transfer money abroad.
The decision on the price ceiling of Russian crude oil, one of the issues that attracted the most attention, will be made after details are discussed in the EU and G7.
30 individuals and 7 entities in Russia were added to the EU blacklist, including Russian-appointed officials in the newly merged regions, Russian defense officials and defense-related companies.
Norway, which is not an EU member, also announced Thursday it will restrict Russian fishing vessels from entering its ports.
Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said from now on Russian fishing vessels would only be allowed to call at three ports and be subject to security checks before docking.
The new sanctions package was announced a day after the Russian president signed a document officially merging the 4 provinces of Ukraine including Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
The United Nations and many Western countries criticized the move as “illegal”, and called on countries and international organizations to refuse to recognize Russia’s decision.
The EU previously imposed 7 rounds of sanctions on Russia after it launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. The sanctions have targeted essential Russian sectors such as gold and energy.
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, said last month that the West had imposed 11,000 sanctions on Russia.
The European Union (EU) – a price ceiling on Russian oil.
The European Union (EU) on October 5 approved a new package of sanctions against Russia, including imposing a price ceiling on Russian oil.
The eighth package of sanctions includes the imposition of a price ceiling on Russian oil, as well as “guaranteed” measures to minimize the impact of sanctions on countries, who owns developed shipping services such as Greece, the Republic of Malta and the Republic of Cyprus.
European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen in a statement posted on social media welcomed the EU “to act quickly and decisively for the agreement on the eighth package of sanctions”.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak then warned that the country might cut production to offset the negative effects of the West’s move.
“We believe that the imposition of a price ceiling violates all market mechanisms. It would be very dangerous for the global oil industry, and Russia is ready to cut production.
Of course, we will still offer those who adhere to market pricing mechanisms. We believe $70 per barrel of oil is a pretty comfortable price,” Novak told the media.
Poland wants the US to share nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda said on October 5 that Polish officials were discussing with the United States the issue of joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s (NATO) nuclear weapons sharing program.
“There will always be an opportunity to participate in the nuclear sharing programme. We spoke with the American leadership about whether they were considering such a possibility. This is an open topic,” Duda told the media.
President Duda then announced that the country would continue to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia.
“Poland will stand with Ukraine. Ukraine must regain control of all the territories within the borders recognized by the international community,” the Polish leader added.
Russia expels Lithuanian diplomat
Since Russian Foreign Ministry on October 5 issued a decision to expel Lithuanian Chargé d’affaires Virginia Umbrasene.
“The representative of the Lithuanian Embassy on October 5 was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
We handed the official a note protesting the expulsion of Russian diplomat Sergey Ryabokon by the Vilnius government, and declared Lithuanian Chargé d’affaires Virginia Umbrasene an “unwelcome person.” (persona non grata). Umbrasene will have 5 days to leave Russia,” the statement from the Russian Foreign Ministry read.
Putin signed a decree declaring control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant
recalled Alles Europa News reports earlier that the President Vladimir Putin on October 5 signed a decree to bring the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine under the control of the Russian state.
He instructed the cabinet to determine how the plant should be operated from now until 2028.
Elsewhere, the leader of Ukraine’s state nuclear company Energoatom, Petro Kotin, said he would take on the post of General Director of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“Based on the provisions of the law and current regulatory documents, I decided to take on the task of leading the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
The operation of the plant will be handled by technical staff, in accordance with the agreement with Energoatom.
We will continue to work in accordance with Ukrainian law, in the Ukrainian energy system under the direction of Energoatom,” Kotin said.
