Washington and its partners are considering additional sanctions if the parties do not observe a ceasefire, with political and technical negotiations between Europe and the U.S. intensifying since last week, Reuters' source said.
The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.
Peter Szijjarto's announcement came after Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) allegedly dismantled a Hungarian military intelligence network operating in Zakarpattia Oblast.
Moscow and Washington discuss the potential resumption of Russian gas supplies to Europe, among other issues related to the peaceful settlement of Russia's war in Ukraine, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov confirmed to the Russian state-run Interfax news agency.
"This is a historic decision, as weapons for Ukraine will be purchased at the expense of the proceeds from frozen Russian assets through the European Peace Fund," Denys Shmyhal said.
The approval marks a key step in international efforts to hold Moscow accountable for what is considered the gravest violation of international law committed against Ukraine.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen delivers an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, on Sept. 13, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The European Union is planning to impose tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus to appease farmers and some member states, the Financial Times (FT) reported on March 19, citing people familiar with the plans.
EU imports of cereals, oil seeds, and their derivatives from Russia reached a record of 4 million metric tons in 2023, which is 1% of the total EU consumption, according to FT.
Poland and the Baltic states have called on the EU to restrict Russian and Belarusian imports of agricultural products and foodstuffs to protect domestic markets from an influx of cheap products and deprive Moscow of the relevant profits supporting its war machine.
The European Commission is expected to impose in the coming days a duty of 95 euros ($103) per ton on grain from Russia and Belarus, which would increase prices by at least 50%, killing demand, the people told FT.
The EU also reportedly plans to place tariffs of 50% on oilseeds and derived products.
This would be the first restriction on Russian food products since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
The duty will be set at the maximum level allowed by the World Trade Organization’s rules, the FT sources said.
Russia may retaliate, but it has already banned most food imports from the EU, and many European agricultural companies have left the country in recent years.
