Two Russian oil tankers with 29 on board damaged due to bad weather
Two Russian oil tankers with 29 crew members on board were damaged in the Kerch Strait near the Black Sea due to bad weather conditions, TASS reported Sunday.
On Wednesday morning, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unveiled the bloc’s new package of measures against Russia and told the European Parliament and EU countries that they should completely ban Russian oil imports and refined products in the next six months by the end of the year, reports news agency Reuters.
The package was aimed at maximizing pressure on Russia while minimising damage to Europe.
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The plan speaks of disconnecting Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, from the SWIFT bank transfer system. More civilians are being evacuated from Mariupol on Wednesday, according to the regional governor.
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Russian missiles struck electrical substations around the western city of Lviv, close to the Polish border, causing blackouts on Tuesday, the mayor said.
The crude ban and other measures will be presented in detail to E.U. ambassadors Wednesday and are expected to be adopted by the end of the week.
“Let us be clear, it will not be easy,” Ms. von der Leyen told European deputies at the parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg, France. “Some member states are strongly dependent on Russian oil. But we simply have to work on it.”
Her announcement was greeted with applause by the members of Parliament, reflecting the broad consensus that the measure, while difficult to take and potentially economically painful for Europeans, has been long anticipated as necessary to start depriving President Vladimir V. Putin of cash needed to fund the war.
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