Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for tougher penalties and enforcement of existing sanctions against Russia during the war. “The tougher the sanctions against Russia and against the entire Russian war economy, the faster the war will end,” he said in his video message that was broadcast in Kiev on Saturday evening. On the other hand, Russia repeatedly stresses that the sanctions are ineffective. They neither ended the war nor destroyed the economy of the resource superpower.
Zelenskyj once again complained that Russia was circumventing the existing sanctions imposed by the West. It is a central task internationally to end this circumvention of the punitive measures imposed in the wake of the war. Russia, for example, imports many goods via parallel imports and third countries. In addition, despite the blockades by the West, the country continues to earn billions from oil and gas exports and is thus keeping its war economy running.
Zelenskyi announced that he had signed new sanctions decrees to harm Russia and, in particular, the military-industrial complex. He did not give any details on the possible effect of these steps. Zelenskyy says he sees progress in Ukraine’s efforts to impose sanctions on Russia’s nuclear industry. He again accused Russia of using nuclear power as a weapon, like all forms of energy.
Specifically, the head of state referred to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops and used by Moscow for nuclear blackmail. Zelenskyj said that an alliance of Western countries, including the USA, Great Britain and Japan, is now working to remove the “terror state” Russia from the world market for nuclear energy.
In his video, Zelenskyy once again thanked individual states, including Germany, for military assistance, including strengthening Ukraine’s air defense against Russian attacks. The toughest battles are currently taking place in the Donetsk region, including in the city of Bakhmut, which Zelenskyy highlighted. “It’s the most intense there,” he said. The Russian Defense Ministry and Wagner’s private army have been reporting for days that they have already taken more than 80 percent of the city, which once had a population of 70,000. Bachmut is largely destroyed by the battle with the most losses so far in this war, which has been going on for 14 months.
Source: Swiss Info
