Putin must feel pain if war continues – Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: president.gov.ua)
Russian President Vladimir Putin must feel that his intention to continue the war against Ukraine and shift destabilizing activities to countries such as Poland and Romania will bring pain to Russia, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a briefing with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Kyiv.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine is expecting the adoption of the 19th EU sanctions package against Russia.
"We expect that one of the main targets of the sanctions will be Russian energy resources and the infrastructure of their trade. But also the Russian banking sector and various sanction evasion schemes that Russia uses to finance the war," he said.
According to the president, he and Metsola discussed in detail how to bring more European alignment to the positions of Slovakia and Hungary, which still have some dependence on Russian energy.
"We also count on corresponding sanction steps from the United States. Putin must feel that his intention to continue the war, to continue the strikes, in particular, to shift destabilizing activities to countries such as Poland and Romania, all this will mean pain for Russia. If Russia does not feel pain, it fights," Zelenskyy stressed.
He added that Russians must feel greater economic, political, and other losses for Ukraine and Russia to move closer to peace finally.
"In this context, we also spoke about Russian assets, which must be used much more effectively and promptly to help defend against Russian aggression and to rebuild Ukraine," the president added.
EU sanctions against Russia
The EU has already approved 18 sanction packages against Russia following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and is working on the 19th package of measures.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on more than 2,500 individuals and entities from Russia, including the country's leadership, senior officials, businessmen and oligarchs, propagandists, as well as employees and companies from the military, space, chemical, and energy sectors.
The EU extends existing sanctions every six months, which requires a unanimous decision from all 27 member states.
However, in recent times, Hungary has obstructed the automatic extension of sanctions after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán received support from US President Donald Trump.
Earlier, the media reported that the European Commission was preparing to present the 19th sanctions package against Russia on Wednesday, September 17.
Later, it became known that the new EU sanctions package would be announced at a later date, as Europe seeks to coordinate a unified approach with the G7.
According to media reports, this EC decision is linked to the fact that US President Donald Trump and the EU are increasing pressure on Slovakia and Hungary to reduce their dependence on Russian oil.
