Following the visit to Zelenski, the European Union has announced new sanctions against Russia and added that Ukraine will receive an additional EUR 500 million in armaments. "We are going to give EUR 500 million more to the Ukrainian Army to defend its country and the people of the country," they said.
Moreover, von der Leyen has announced that they will accept the fifth package of sanctions against Russia, the main measure of which is the ban on Russian coal, which has recently been suspended. The countries of the European Union will not be able to import Russian coal, which accounts for a quarter of Russian exports, some EUR 8 billion per year.
Measures have also been taken against the financial world, banning many international transactions. On the other hand, it is forbidden to cross the border to carriers with Russian and Belarussian goods, although the passage to carriers with commodities will be permitted.
The EU countries will also be banned from exporting many specific products, such as quantum computing products, advanced semiconductors, chemicals and sensitive machinery.
First steps towards Ukraine joining the EU
In addition to imposing more sanctions on Russia and giving more weapons to the Ukrainian army, Zelenski and Von der Leyen have taken the first step towards Ukraine’s integration into the European Union (EU) in Kiev. The President of the European Commission has given Zelenski a report to the Ukrainian authorities to take Ukraine’s candidate status to the European Union and to begin its integration process.
Ukraine belongs in the European family.
And today, Ukraine takes another important step towards EU membership.
We will accelerate this process as much as we can, while ensuring that all conditions are respected.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 8, 2022
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