Yesterday, European Union member states officially adopted the nineteenth package of sanctions against Russia due to its ongoing war in Ukraine, which includes a ban on Russian liquefied natural gas imports.
The Danish presidency of the EU stated that this significant package aims to target Russia’s primary sources of income through measures focused on energy, financial services, and trade.
The package also involves a new mechanism aimed at limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the EU.
The official journal of the EU revealed that the bloc has added two Chinese refineries with a combined capacity of 600,000 barrels per day, as well as China Oil Hong Kong, a trading arm of PetroChina, to the list of sanctions related to Russia.
The refineries are Liaoyang Petrochemical and Shandong Yulong Petrochemical, representing three percent of China’s total refining capacity of 19 million barrels per day.
In related developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders in Brussels welcomed the decision by the United States to impose sanctions on Moscow.
Zelensky stated on his social media platform that this is a crucial and necessary message that underscores that the Russian aggression will not go unanswered. He expressed the importance of these sanctions during his arrival at the EU leaders’ summit, following the U.S. and EU announcement targeting the Russian oil and gas sectors.
European Union foreign policy chief, Kaia Kallas, expressed satisfaction with the signals received from the United States, highlighting that their consensus on this issue is an important indication.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the U.S. still seeks to engage in dialogue with Russia, despite the new sanctions. Rubio told reporters that they remain open to meeting with Russian officials and are always interested in discussions if it leads to peace.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that the EU sanctions primarily harm the bloc itself, asserting that the EU elite cannot accept that their sanctions have been ineffective.
The ministry also condemned the new American sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, asserting that Russia is resilient against these economic measures.
Additionally, China expressed its opposition to the latest U.S. sanctions against Russia’s two largest oil companies related to the war in Ukraine, stating that they lack a basis in international law.
During a regular press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Guo Jiacheng, reiterated China’s consistent opposition to unilateral sanctions that lack legal foundation and were not authorized by the UN Security Council.
On the ground, the Ukrainian Air Force announced that its air defense forces shot down 92 out of 130 drones launched by Russia during an overnight air assault on northern and eastern Ukraine. In contrast, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its air defense systems intercepted and destroyed 139 Ukrainian drones during the night before.
Additionally, two Ukrainian journalists were killed, and a third was injured yesterday in a drone strike in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, according to reports from their media organization and local officials.
The government-funded Freedom TV channel confirmed that its crew was struck by a Russian Lancet drone while inside a car at a gas station in Kramatorsk. The deceased were identified as Olena Hramova from the Donetsk region and Yevgeny Karmazin from Kramatorsk. A third reporter, Alexander Kolichev, was hospitalized after being injured in the attack. President Zelensky remarked on the platform X:
These are not accidents or errors; this is a deliberate policy by Russia aimed at silencing every independent voice. Pauline Maufray, spokesperson for Reporters Without Borders, called for a thorough and prompt investigation to clarify all circumstances surrounding this attack.
Kyiv’s military administration chief, Tymur Takatchenko, reported that a drone strike by Russia on the Ukrainian capital overnight resulted in nine injuries and damaged buildings across the city. He added that 10 locations in the city were affected, with two residential buildings suffering direct hits. Online images showed an overturned vehicle and buildings with shattered windows.
Targeted Attacks
Moreover, a Ukrainian drone attack targeted a large refinery in the Russian city of Ryazan, leading to a fire outbreak. Ryazan region governor Pavel Malikov stated that 14 drones were intercepted over the area, adding that debris from the drones caused a fire in an industrial facility.
Malikov advised the public against sharing photos or videos from the incident site. Nonetheless, unverified videos circulated on social media reportedly showing a massive blaze at the refinery. Moscow’s Mayor Sergei Sobyanin indicated that Russian air defense shot down a Ukrainian drone headed towards Moscow.
Power Restoration
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency announced that electricity supply to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine has been restored after the longest outage since the war, lasting a full month.
The agency noted that restoring power to the plant is a critically important step for nuclear safety and security. It added that it continues to work with both Russia and Ukraine to facilitate the restart of another power line.
On a different note, Russia returned the bodies of a thousand Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian authority responsible for prisoners of war.
The authority reported that the body repatriation took place on Thursday, expressing gratitude for the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross. According to RBC, Russia and Ukraine exchanged the bodies of war casualties, with Moscow handing over the remains of a thousand Ukrainian soldiers in exchange for 31 Russian soldiers killed in the conflict.