Von der Leyen Ukraine: Ukraine belongs to our European family

Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen gave a statement at the European Parliament after the Russian "aggression" against Ukraine.

The European Official talked about the sanctions against Russia and their consequences, saying, "the European Union has adopted three waves of heavy sanctions against Russia's financial system, its high-tech industries, and its corrupt elite. This is the largest sanctions package in our Union's history. We do not take these measures lightly, but we feel we had to act. These sanctions will take a heavy toll on the Russian economy and the Kremlin." 

"We are disconnecting key Russian banks from the SWIFT network. We also banned the transactions of Russia's central bank, the single most important financial institution in Russia. This paralyzes billions in foreign reserves, turning off the tap on Russia's and Putin's war. We have to end this financing of his war." She said.

"Second, we target important sectors of the Russian economy. We are making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its oil refineries, repair and modernize its air fleet, and access many important technologies it needs to build a prosperous future. We have closed our skies to Russian aircraft, including the private jets of oligarchs. And make no mistake: We will freeze their other assets as well – be it yachts or fancy cars or luxury properties. We will freeze that altogether." She added.

"Thirdly, in another unprecedented step, we are suspending the licenses of the Kremlin's propaganda machine. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, and all of their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin's war and to divide our Union. These are unprecedented actions by the European Union and our partners in response to unprecedented aggression by Russia."

Von der Leyen said that European security and defense had evolved more in the last six days than in the last two decades.

"Most Member States have promised deliveries of military equipment to Ukraine. Germany announced that it will meet the 2% goal of NATO as soon as possible. And our Union, for the first time ever, is using the European budget to purchase and deliver military equipment to a country that is under attack. EUR 500 million from the European Peace Facility to support Ukraine's defense. As a first batch, we will now also match this by at least EUR 500 million from the EU budget to deal with the humanitarian consequences of this tragic war, both in the country and for the refugees."

Concerning the Ukrainian demand to join the European Union, the President said, "President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people are a true inspiration. When we last spoke, he told me again about his people's dream to join our Union. Today, the European Union and Ukraine are already closer than ever before. There is still a long path ahead. We have to end this war. And we should talk about the next steps. But I am sure: Nobody in this hemicycle can doubt that a people that stands up so bravely for our European values belongs in our European family."

During its session, the European Parliament decided to reduce the number of Russian diplomatic missions in the European countries as a part of its plan to confront the Russian invasion of Ukraine.