European Union preparing new sanctions against Russia following viral videos of purported war crimes
'The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns, that have now been liberated,' said the European Council in a statement on Monday.
The European Union is preparing a new round of sanctions against Russia after now-viral videos from Bucha surfaced on social media, purporting to show war crimes.
As previously detailed by Rebel News, Russia has denied the alleged atrocity and called for a public investigation into the matter. The United Kingdom, which currently presides over the United Nations Security Council, is reportedly stonewalling any discussion from taking place.
“The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns, that have now been liberated,” said the European Council in a statement on Monday.
“The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil,” the organization added.
EU Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said prior to addressing a conference of finance ministers in Luxembourg that “we must step up our pressure against Russia and we must step up our support for Ukraine.”
Dombrovskis added that “discussions are ongoing” and that “nothing is off the table.”
French President Emmanuel Macron stepped up to say that France is prepared to issue new sanctions as a result of Bucha, calling on a total ban on Russian coal and oil.
“There are very clear indications of war crimes,” Macron said.
German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht echoed Macron’s remarks and called on the European Union to seriously consider ending Russian gas imports.
Despite demands to end Russian gas imports in the wake of an alleged war crime, which has been promoted mainly by Ukrainian sources and media outlets friendly to Kiev, upwards of 40% of Europe’s energy supply needs are currently met by Russia, making it near impossible to sanction Russian oil and gas without severely impacting the Eurozone.
"More sanctions of course also mean that the risk of energy disruptions in Europe rises, because of our own sanctions or because Russia might get completely serious with its counter-sanctions rather than just changing the payment mode for natural gas," said Ulrich Leuchtmann, Commerzbank Head of FX, Reuters reported.
As for the alleged war crimes, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed what he calls a “fake attack,” noting that “such provocations” are a “direct threat to international peace and security” and one that aims to escalate the conflict in Ukraine to a full-blown war between the Russian Federation and NATO.
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