The European Union(EU) on Friday declared a ban on most Russian oil imports and cut Russia’s bank Sberbank from the global SWIFT messaging system.
EU also froze the assets of President Vladimir Putin’s alleged girlfriend Alina Kabaeva and put her on visa ban blacklist along with Russian Army officials suspected of war crimes in Ukraine’s Bucha.
EU proposes to block 90 per cent of Russian oil imports by the end of the year.
The move comes as OPEC+ nations decided to boost oil production in July even as oil prices continued to rise.
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Amid the ban on Russian oil, Serbia declared it had managed a three-year natural gas deal with Russia amid condemnation from the EU. Russia had earlier stopped gas supplies to Finland over the country’s insistence on paying in dollars as Russia insisted on being paid in roubles.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to blame Western nations over the food crisis asserting that the Black Sea has been heavily mined which has led the Ukrainian wheat supply to be stranded in the ports. Russia and Ukraine are the main suppliers of global wheat.
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The war in Ukraine entered its hundredth day on Friday as Russian forces continued their push in eastern Donbas. Although President Zelensky claimed “victory will be ours” but the president conceded that at least 20 per cent of territory has been lost to Russia since the invasion began on February 24.
Ukraine said it is engaging Russian forces in Severodonetsk city despite heavy bombardment. As the Russian forces have continued to press on, the Biden administration declared it would be sending advanced rocket launch systems to Ukraine.
In the latest sanctions, the US imposed blacklisted a Monaco company that provides luxury yachts to the rich in Russia as Western nations continue to target Putin’s regime.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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