European Union foreign ministers today are discussing tougher sanctions against Russia as Moscow is accused of using the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant to host launchers and launch missiles in areas around the site in southern Ukraine.
On Saturday, the governor of the Dnipro region, Valentin Ryzhnichenko, denounced the “torrent of fire” caused by Russian Grad shelling that hit “residential areas” in the city of Nikopol.
“Rescuers found two dead people under the rubble,” he said.
EU ministers will have to consider several issues, including a proposal by the European Commission to ban gold purchases from Russia in order to align EU sanctions with those of its G7 partners.
Another proposal aims to add additional Russian figures to the EU blacklist.
“Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
A senior European official said no decision is expected in preliminary discussions in Brussels on these new sanctions.
Canadian Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said Russia’s participation in the Bali meeting was “absurd” and “like inviting an arsonist to a meeting of firefighters.”
In addition, many G20 countries condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the conclusion of the meeting held on Friday and Saturday in Bali, according to a statement released yesterday by the Indonesian president.
A meeting of high-ranking representatives of the financial sector of the G20 countries ended without a joint statement due to disagreements between the countries over Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
Instead of making a closing statement, Indonesia, which is trying to reconcile its neutrality in the conflict on the one hand, and hosting this year’s G-20 summit on the other, issued a statement on its own behalf, citing these differences.
“Many members agreed that the global economic recovery has slowed and faced a major setback due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has been strongly condemned,” the statement said.
The statement added that these members “called for an end” to this war.
“One member expressed the view that the sanctions exacerbate existing difficulties,” the statement said, apparently referring to Russia.
The statement also spoke of the lack of consensus on a global food crisis exacerbated by the invasion of Ukraine, adding: “Most members agreed with the alarming rise in food and energy insecurity… A large number of members have declared their willingness to act quickly.”
