Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky lured his allies to find the will to take tougher action against Moscow, as the European Union prepares on Thursday to discuss another round of sanctions and a possible ban on Russian coal.
The new sanctions will be part of the response to atrocities, including executions and torture, that Russian forces appear to have carried out before withdrawing from areas outside Kyiv. Russia has denied responsibility, saying the atrocities were fabricated or perpetrated by the Ukrainians.
“The Russian forces have changed their tactics and are trying to get the dead out of the streets and basements of the occupied territories,” Mr. Zelensky said in his letter. Wednesday night address. He said that they would not succeed in concealing the evidence, “because they have killed so many. Responsibility cannot be avoided.”
Europe and the United States have Moved to provide more weapons The Ukrainian military and Russia’s economic ostracism with new sanctions, including restrictions on leading banks and on the assets of President Vladimir Putin’s children. Russia appears to be close to defaulting on its foreign debt due to US currency restrictions.
The European Union is considering a set of sanctions that, if approved, would be the most severe since the Russian invasion. The bloc is also considering a coal ban from Russia, the leading provider of fossil fuel energy to Europe.
Deliberations on the ban and other penalties are scheduled to continue until Thursday, and European Union Officials and diplomats expected approval of the measures. The operation reflected the challenges of reaching agreement among all 27 member states on the sanctions, which would also include banning Russian ships from EU ports.
NATO foreign ministers, meeting this week, discussed how to provide more assistance to Ukraine to fight the war without bringing the alliance into direct combat with Russian forces.
They said that the war was not yet over, noting that no matter how poorly the Russian forces were doing, and despite their withdrawal from the areas around Kiev, they were making slow and brutal progress in the separatist east.
“Moscow is not giving up its ambitions in Ukraine,” said Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General.
In other major developments:
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Oleg Senegubov, State Director of the Kharkiv Military District, said Wednesday in Posted on Telegram That the Ukrainian army would evacuate two towns in the east because the fighting was escalating there.
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In the eastern Donetsk region, at least two people were killed and five wounded when Russian forces attacked a A site for humanitarian aid in the town of Voglidar, according to Pavlo Kirilenko, governor of Donetsk.
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In the eastern Luhansk region, Russian forces now control 60 percent of the town of Robyzhny, according to the governor there, Serhiy Haiday, who said the attackers escalated their offensive this week.
Anushka PatelAnd the Megan SpeciaAnd the Cora Engelbrecht And the Eric Schmidt Contribute to the preparation of reports.
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