The European Union agreed Wednesday to enact a new round of sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s continued war in Ukraine.
The sanctions include about 200 people and entities being banned from doing business with companies in the EU or traveling there.
“With this package, we are taking more action against entities involved in circumvention [of sanctions], the defense and military sectors,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
In addition to Russian firms, the sanctions target Chinese companies providing military technology to Russia.
“We must keep degrading Putin's war machine,” EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. “With 2,000 listings in total, we keep the pressure high on the Kremlin. We are also further cutting Russia’s access to drones.”
Ukraine’s military said Wednesday that Russia attacked overnight with 19 drones and multiple missiles.
The Ukrainian air force said the country’s air defenses shot down 13 of the 19 drones, as well as one of six missiles.
The drones were intercepted over the Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.
Serhiy Lysak, the Dnipropetrovsk regional governor, said on Telegram that drones were shot down over two districts and Russian shelling also targeted the region. Lysak said there were no reported injuries.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov discussed battlefield developments in a phone call Tuesday, the Pentagon said.
“Secretary Austin reiterated the steadfast commitment of our coalition of some 50 Allies and partners to continue supporting Ukraine as Russia's full-scale war of aggression approaches the two-year mark,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a statement.
The U.S. has brought together a coalition of countries to coordinate support for the Ukrainian military in its fight against the full-scale Russian invasion. The latest round of talks last week took place amid a continued pause in U.S. contributions after funding for new Ukraine aid ran out in December.
Umerov said Ukraine’s new army chief, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, joined the call to provide updates on the situation on the frontlines as well as Ukraine’s ammunition supply.
Earlier Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed a $683 million military aid package from Sweden.
Zelenskyy called Sweden’s support “a significant contribution to Ukraine’s resilience in the face of Russian aggression and a powerful investment in preserving peace and freedom in Europe.”
“Artillery ammunition, air defense, grenade launchers, combat boats, armored vehicles, and other items are meeting some of our frontline warriors' most pressing needs,” Zelenskyy posted on social media.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is pictured with Defense Minister Pal Jonson and Finance Minister Svantesson during a military demonstration as a new support package for Ukraine is presented, Feb. 20, 2024, at Berga Naval Base, south of Stockholm.
Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said the aid package was the largest yet his country is supplying to Ukraine, and that the equipment and weapons meet “some of Ukraine’s most pressing needs.”
“Ukraine is not only defending its own freedom but that of all of Europe,” Jonson said. “Sweden will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Russia cannot be allowed to win this war.”
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.