Von der Leyen announces the tenth package of sanctions against Russia worth 11,000 million

Coinciding with the first anniversary of the war of aggression against Ukraine, Ursula von der Leyen has announced a tenth package of sanctions against Russia worth 11,000 million euros. The president of the European Commission assures that the retaliatory measures adopted by the EU are achieving their objective of weaken the Kremlin’s war machine and weigh down the Russian economy.

“One year later, Putin’s perfidious plans are still thwarted by the brave Ukrainian nation. One year later, Russia has completely distanced itself from Europe, its most important economic relationship.and is isolated on the world stage”, Von der Leyen said in a speech before the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

“A year later, this Parliament welcomed the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, as the true hero that he is. And a year later, Putin’s imperial fantasies have been awakened to a grim reality, while Ukraine’s dreams are stronger than ever. And they will prevail”, stressed the president.

[Alarma en la OTAN al agotarse las reservas de municiones por su envío masivo a Ucrania]

The tenth package of EU sanctions against the Kremlin, which still has to be approved unanimously by all 27 Member States, is based on a combination of new trade bans and export controls of technology to Russia.

“We propose, among other things, restrictions on the export of multiple electronic components used in Russian weapon systemssuch as drones, missiles, helicopters,” Von der Leyen said. In addition, for the first time the EU will sanction Iranian entities that are supplying drones to Russia, including those linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

In her speech at the European Parliament, the president assured that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, “has already lost the energy war” that he launched against the EU. “Putin assumed that our support for Ukraine would not last. He thought it would be easy to blackmail Europe because of our dependence on Russian oil and gas. But he was wrong about that too,” he said.

“Today, a year after the war started, it has already lost the energy war it started. We have repositioned ourselves, thanks to reliable partners, and the results can be seen. Russia’s revenue from gas sales to Europe has risen reduced by two-thirds The oil price cap means that Russia is losing 160 million euros in revenue every day“, says von der Leyen.

By contrast, gas prices in the EU “are lower today than they were before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and Europe is now investing in clean energy and energy independence like never before.” “Last year, for the first time, we generated more electricity from wind and solar power than from gas,” she boasted.

“With European unity and a smart energy policy, we have withstood Russian pressure and freed ourselves from our energy dependency. Our economy is performing significantly better than expected today. On the contrary, the Kremlin has to sell gold reserves to plug the holes left by the lack of oil revenues. Putin’s attempt to blackmail Europe using energy has been a resounding failure“, has concluded Von der Leyen.