EU to prepare new sanctions against Russia following Putin's mobilisation speech
Vladimir Putin's plans to order a partial mobilisation of reserved army forces to bolster the war in Ukraine and organise "sham referenda" in the country's occupied territories are grounds for a new round of EU sanctions, Ursula von der Leyen has said.
Western leaders fear Putin will use the referenda as an excuse to claim Ukraine's eastern and southern fronts as integral parts of Russia, mirroring the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea.
At the same time, the Russian leader intends to bring up to 300,000 reserved forces into the Russian army through a decree of partial mobilisation, a move that experts see as a reaction to the lightning counteroffensive recently launched by Ukraine.
"President Putin is showing his weakness now because what you see is that he plans to mobilise personnel that is less trained, less experienced, less motivated. And he wants to start sham referendum on Ukrainian sovereign soil," the European Commission president told CNN during her visit to New York City, where she attended the opening session of the United Nations General Assembly.
"So, I think this calls for sanctions from our part, again."
After the interview with CNN, a spokesperson for von der Leyen shared a statement explaining the new penalties will focus on "individuals and entities" that support the invasion of Ukraine and on "additional export controls on civilian technology as Russia moves to a full war economy."
The Commission has yet to provide further details.
Since 24 February, the EU has imposed six rounds of sanctions against Russia, together with complementary measures to increase their efficiency and a long list of blacklisted high-profile people and companies.
The sanctions include an embargo on oil and coal imports, an export ban
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