Faced with the prospect of a long war, the European Union is tightening its sanctions against Moscow. The EU is also putting in place measures to continue its military support for Ukraine and deal with a shortage of Russian gas supplies on which several member countries are very dependent. Franceinfo takes stock of the assessment of the situation in Ukraine, on the 142nd day of the war.
EU to target Russian gold
The European Union will target Russian gold exports in its next set of sanctions, as decided by the G7 countries at the end of June, European Commissioner Maros Sefcovic told AFP at a meeting of ministers of foreign affairs. European affairs in Prague.
She will also search “to close the loopholes” for those who circumvent previous European sanctions against Russia, said the Commissioner. “As soon as we reach an agreement at member state level, we will publish” these sanctions, which will allow their implementation, he said.
Delivery of M270 rocket launchers
Ukraine has announced that it has received its first delivery of a sophisticated multiple rocket launcher system, adding to a long-range artillery arsenal provided by the West. “The first MLRS M270s have arrived! They will be good company for the Himars on the battlefield”Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote on social media, referring to the US precision rocket systems recently deployed in the conflict.
“No mercy for the enemy”, he added. London announced in June the delivery of M270 MLRS rocket launchers with a range of 80 kilometers. Moscow, for its part, continues to warn Western countries against delivering long-range weapons to kyiv.
Moscow claims to have targeted a military target in Vinnytsia
Moscow claimed to have targeted a command meeting of Ukrainian forces in Vinnytsia, a city in central Ukraine where a Russian bombardment condemned by the UN and the European Union left at least 23 dead. A U.S. defense official dismissed those Russian claims. “I have no indication of the presence of a military target nearby”the senior official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
“It looked like an apartment building”, the official added, confirming that Russia launched the missile strike from a submarine. Counting the attack on Vinnytsia, he estimated that 100 to 150 Ukrainian civilians had been killed in Russian strikes in the past seven to 15 days, based on public information.
Briton captured by separatists dies in custody
Briton Paul Urey, captured in April by Russian or pro-Russian forces during a humanitarian mission according to relatives, died in custody on July 10, separatist authorities announced. “Despite the seriousness of [ses] crimes, Paul Urey was receiving adequate medical assistance. Despite this, in view of his diagnosis and the stress, he died on July 10.said on Telegram the head of the rights of the separatists of the Donetsk region, assuring that it was a mercenary and not a humanitarian worker.
A non-profit organization based in the United Kingdom, Presidium Network, announced on April 29 that two aid workers it knew, Paul Urey and Dylan Healy, had been captured by the Russian army in the south of the country. Ukraine as they sought to evacuate a woman and two children.