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Ukraine crisis: New EU sanctions hit Russia on Friday | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
New EU sanctions against Russia will take effect on Friday, blocking loans for five big state banks and curbing EU business with oil and defence firms. | |
The aim is to keep pressure on Russia over its role in the Ukraine crisis. But the measures could be eased or lifted if a ceasefire in Ukraine holds. | |
Russia says it is preparing a response. One top Russian official said cars imported from the EU could be targeted. | |
Nato says Russia still has about 1,000 heavily armed troops in east Ukraine. | |
The EU and US accuse the Kremlin of directly helping pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions by sending regular soldiers across the border, along with sophisticated weapons including tanks. Moscow denies the allegations. | |
Nato says Russia is still keeping about 20,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, besides those it says are inside Ukraine. | |
The separatists have recently made big gains in eastern Ukraine. The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people since April. | |
Blacklisted officials | |
The new EU sanctions will also add 24 more Russian officials and rebel leaders to a blacklist, subjecting them to visa bans and asset freezes. | |
"They comprise persons involved in actions against Ukraine's territorial integrity, including the new leadership in Donbass, the government of Crimea as well as Russian decision-makers and oligarchs," said a statement from the EU Council, the grouping of 28 member states' governments. | |
"This brings the total of persons subject to sanctions to 119 while 23 [Russian] entities remain under asset freeze in the EU," it said. | |
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called the new sanctions "an absolutely unfriendly step". | Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich called the new sanctions "an absolutely unfriendly step". |
Andrei Belousov, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, told Russia's Ria Novosti news agency that Russia might limit imports of cars and light industrial goods from the EU. | |
Russia already has a wide-ranging embargo on food imports from the EU, banning fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy produce and other important foods. | |
That year-long ban also applies to food from the US, Canada, Australia and Norway, which have imposed sanctions similar to the EU's. | |
The rouble fell to a new low of 37.57 to the dollar on Thursday, after news about the EU sanctions broke. It also fell against the euro. | The rouble fell to a new low of 37.57 to the dollar on Thursday, after news about the EU sanctions broke. It also fell against the euro. |
Dual-use goods targeted | |
The latest EU decision followed a conference call involving a number of European leaders, including UK Prime Minister David Cameron. | |
The member states struggled to agree on how to factor in the fragile truce between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels. | |
At urgent talks among 28 member states in Brussels on Wednesday, Germany pressed for the sanctions to put be into effect. | At urgent talks among 28 member states in Brussels on Wednesday, Germany pressed for the sanctions to put be into effect. |
But other countries said they wanted to wait while the ceasefire continued to hold. | But other countries said they wanted to wait while the ceasefire continued to hold. |
The measures will target Russian oil companies Rosneft and Transneft and the petroleum unit of state gas monopoly Gazprom. | |
Their access to financial markets will be restricted - a serious matter for Rosneft, which last month asked the Russian government for a $42bn (£25.2bn) loan. | Their access to financial markets will be restricted - a serious matter for Rosneft, which last month asked the Russian government for a $42bn (£25.2bn) loan. |
The measures also cover dual-use goods which can be used for military purposes, defence equipment and some other sensitive technologies. | The measures also cover dual-use goods which can be used for military purposes, defence equipment and some other sensitive technologies. |
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Russia might shut its airspace to European passenger planes, a move that "could drive many struggling airlines into bankruptcy". | Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Russia might shut its airspace to European passenger planes, a move that "could drive many struggling airlines into bankruptcy". |