UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, has disclosed that more than 60% of Putin’s War Chest has been frozen by sanctions, adding that more needs to be done.
According to the Foreign Secretary, “crippling” sanctions are pushing the Russian economy back “into the Soviet era”.
She added that more than $350bn (£266bn) of Russia’s $604bn foreign currency reserves are unavailable to the government. Her call for more to be done is being pressed after images of dead bodies were found in the streets of Bucha, near Kyiv, emerged after Russian troops withdrew.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned that he believes the worst atrocities committed by Russian forces are yet to be discovered, although Russia has denied killing civilians and claiming, without evidence, that Ukraine has staged such scenes.
Outcome of meeting with Polish President
Ms. Truss, who spoke after talks with her Polish Counterpart, Zbigniew Rau, urged G7 countries to go further in their sanctions ahead of G7 and NATO meetings this week.
Measures that Ms. Truss is calling for include banning Russian ships from Polish ports, cracking down on Russian banks, going after industries “filling Putin’s war chest” such as the gold trade, and a timetable to eliminate imports of Russian oil and gas.
Ms. Truss averred the only way to end the war is for Russian President, Vladimir Putin to lose in Ukraine. Hence, she stressed the urgency of stepping up sanctions, as well as giving weapons to Ukraine to defend itself.
“Although Russian troops have been defeated in their initial assault on Kyiv, there has been no change in their intent and ambition. We are seeing Putin’s forces set their sights on the east and south of Ukraine, with the same reckless disregard for civilian lives and their nationhood. So far our sanctions have had a crippling impact on those who feed and fund Putin’s war machine.”
UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss
Earlier, Ms. Truss agreed with her co-G7 member, Japan, that the international community must increase pressure on Russia with further coordinated sanctions. The UK has also announced a £10m fund to support organisations in Ukraine, including those helping victims of conflict-related sexual violence. The UK will also be providing funding and technical assistance for the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into reports of rape.
“We have all been shocked by the scenes from Bucha,” Ms. Truss disclosed. “These are appalling acts of the kind that we thought we left in the 20th Century.” During the Foreign Secretary’s visit, she also praised Poland for being on the “front line of helping Ukraine” and for always being “clear-eyed” about “Putin’s malign intent”.
Plans by the EU and US
Both the EU and the US are planning more sanctions to be meted out to Russia this week, with EU Ambassadors’ upcoming meeting on Wednesday, April 6, 2022, to decide what steps to take.
European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, has outlined a fifth wave of sanctions, including an import ban on Russian coal, which she revealed is worth 4bn euros (£3.34bn) per year.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, has called for countries to stop buying oil, gas and coal from Russia to avert “new Buchas”. He described the move as the “mother of all sanctions”, saying it would stop the war in a matter of months.
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