Day 367: EU Approves 10th Package of Sanctions on Russia

Facts

• After last-minute haggling, the EU approved a 10th package of sanctions on Russia to coincide with the one-year anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine late on Friday. The sanctions blacklisted further Russian individuals, cut off two additional banks from the SWIFT banking system, and aimed to stifle Russian entities that supported the war effort with technology and equipment.¹
• The measures, which had to be approved by all 27 EU member states, faced initial resistance from Poland — itself an exporter of rubber — after it complained that exemptions on EU imports of Russian rubber were so large that they had no effect in practice. A compromise was ultimately reached, and the sanctions were approved two hours before midnight.¹
• Meanwhile, US Pres. Joe Biden has weighed in on the proposal put forward by China seeking a Russia-Ukraine peace deal. Speaking to ABC News, Biden said: 'I've seen nothing in the plan that would indicate that there is something that would be beneficial to anyone other than Russia, if the Chinese plan were followed.' He added: 'The idea that China is going to be negotiating the outcome of a war that's a totally unjust war for Ukraine is just not rational.'²
• In the interview, Biden also repeated his position that he would not be sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine for the time being. 'He doesn't need F-16s now,' Biden said. “I am ruling it out for now.'²
• On the ground, Russian attacks continued to be recorded in the regions of Sumy and  Donetsk, as well as the regions of Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian officials reported that five civilians were injured in Donetsk, while one civilian was injured in Kherson.³
• Ukrainian attacks were meanwhile recorded in the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, where Ukrainian officials said they struck an ammunition depot and a cluster of Russian forces near the city of Mariupol. There were no reports of civilian casualties.⁴

Sources: ¹Msn, ²Uk.yahoo, ³Ukrinform (a) and ⁴Ukrinform (b).

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after an election a 'coup.' This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
• Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by National security archive. NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.

Predictions