Poland and Lithuania support Ukraine’s entry into the European Union + declare a state of emergency

The EU also wants to impose sanctions on Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, several EU diplomats confirmed to dpa in Brussels on Wednesday. The European Union wanted the sanctions to be formally adopted on Wednesday afternoon. The sanctions should then be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The penalties will then take effect.

It was already known Wednesday morning that the 351 members of the Russian parliament who voted to recognize the self-declared Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics will also be placed on the sanctions list. There are also sanctions against 27 other people and organizations. All assets of those affected are frozen in the European Union and a ban on entry is imposed. Also, it is not permissible to conduct further business with people and organizations. In addition, the Russian state’s access to the EU’s financial markets will be restricted and the EU’s trade with the breakaway regions will be restricted.

The government in Kiev demanded the West to impose tougher sanctions on Russia. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that the measures should be directed against the country’s economy and the inner circle of President Putin. He wrote, “Hit hard. Hit hard. Hit now.”

For now, the EU has not imposed any sanctions on Putin personally, as confirmed by the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, on Tuesday evening after a special meeting of EU foreign ministers in Paris. This was decided in order to take further measures in reserve.