At the G7 in Puglia, Ukraine receives the support of the leaders and the agreement on the use of profits generated by Russian assets frozen in Europe in favor of Kiev. But Moscow warns Brussels: “Our response will be very painful.”
Moscow: “Painful response to use of assets confiscated in the EU in favor of Kiev”
The warning comes from the spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharov: ”The European properties and funds in Russia, as you know, are sufficient and the inevitable retaliatory measures will be extremely painful for Brussels, which will therefore have to pay first of all for its madness”, he stated as reported by Tass.
Russia against Biden: “He wants to make Europe bleed”
Previously on Telegram Zakharova accused US President Joe Biden’s administration wants to “make Europe bleed even harder” to stay in power. “Do the countries of the European Union realize that Washington is involving them in a direct confrontation with Russia under the NATO flag?” he wrote.
“The West is hysterically feeding its population with claims about Russia’s alleged imminent aggression against Western countries – added Zakharova – and this means only one thing: the Biden administration must make Europe bleed even harder to avoid the collapse of its own government and the US economy.”
Meanwhile the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia Dmitry Medvedev considers it necessary to respond to Western sanctions. In his Telegram channel, he called for turning life in the West into a “complete nightmare”, causing maximum damage to hostile countries.
“Every day we must try to cause maximum harm to those countries that imposed these restrictions against our country and all our citizens,” called the deputy head of the Security Council of the Russian Federation. “We must cause damage everywhere, paralyze the work of their companies and government bodies. Cause problems in their most important technologies and strike them mercilessly, literally destroying their energy, industry, transport, banking and social services.” “We turn their life into a completely crazy nightmare,” Medvedev concluded, offering to be guided by the Old Testament principle of “an eye for an eye.”
Zelensky: “Clear support for Kiev from the G7”
“G7 Summit: clear support for Ukraine, international law and a just peace. Every day we strengthen our positions and our defense of life. Every meeting serves to give Ukraine new opportunities for victory. I am grateful to all our partners”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote this on X after the summit session dedicated to Ukraine.
The dossier: “Moscow subjected Mariupol to starvation”
Russia engaged in a “deliberate pattern” of starvation tactics during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in early 2022. This amounts to a war crime, according to a new dossier presented to the International Criminal Court by Global Rights Compliance lawyers, working in collaboration with the Ukrainian government. The document alleges that Russia and its leaders intended to kill and harm large numbers of civilians.
An estimated 22,000 people were killed during the encirclement and capture of the city of Mariupol at the start of the war in Ukraine. Civilians were left without water, gas or electricity within days of the siege as temperatures dropped to minus 10°C. Catriona Murdoch, partner at Global Rights Compliance, said the aim of the research was “to see if there was a broader narrative” that proved a deliberate denial of food and other life-sustaining services by the Russian military and his leadership, a starvation strategy that could be considered a war crime.
“What we could see was that there were four phases in the Russian attack, starting with raids on civilian infrastructure, with the supply of electricity, heating and water being cut off. Then humanitarian evacuations were denied and even attacked, while the passage of aid was prevented,” Murdoch added. “In phase three, remaining critical infrastructure was targeted, civilians were terrorized with aid and water points bombed. Finally, in phase four, Russia engaged in strategic attacks to destroy or occupy remaining infrastructure” .
Kiev: most modern Russian radio station hit
Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces have struck Russia’s most modern R-416GM digital radio communication station for the first time since the start of the war. The Kiev military reported this, referring to the station that Moscow began using in 2018. Following the attack, communication between the command post and Russian army units in the field was interrupted, the military said Ukrainians.
New sanctions from GB against the Moscow Stock Exchange and suppliers of weapons to the Russians
The UK has imposed a new package of sanctions against 42 Russian entities including the Moscow Stock Exchange, the National Clearing Center and the National Settlement Depository. This is a decision announced by the British Treasury and which follows the new sanctions imposed yesterday by the United States. Britain’s aim is to undermine the Russian financial system and those providing military support to the Russian armed forces engaged in Ukraine.
These new sanctions also target suppliers of ammunition, machine tools, microelectronics and logistics to the Russian military, including entities based in China, Israel, Kyrgyzstan and Turkey, along with ships carrying military goods from North Korea to Russia.
”The United Kingdom will always stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine in its fight for freedom,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in a statement announcing the new package of sanctions. ”Today we are once again intensifying economic pressure through sanctions to limit Russia’s ability to finance its war machine. Putin must lose, and cutting off his ability to finance a protracted conflict is absolutely vital”said the British Prime Minister.
Stoltenberg: “No significant Russian gains in Kharkiv”
Thanks to Western aid, the Russian army “failed to make significant territorial gains” around Kharkiv. This was underlined by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, at a press conference in Brussels at the end of the first day of the Defense ministerial meeting.
In the NATO-Ukraine Council “we will talk about the immediate need to provide increased security assistance to Ukraine, in particular regarding increased air defense. We will also talk about how to ensure a solid framework for our long-term support and to help you to build Ukraine’s future strength.”
Stoltenberg then added that he “welcomes the decision of the G7 countries to use the proceeds of Russian assets to provide more support to Ukraine. As far as I know, it is a loan and it is not only for military aid, but also for other things important, such as economic support to the Ukrainian state and other types of macro-financial assistance. What matters for NATO commitments are military aid and it is too early to say how much will be covered” by flows from Russian assets. “My proposal, not yet agreed upon by the allies – he continues – is that we should agree on a minimum level of 40 billion per year, which would at least support the level of support provided so far. We would ensure predictability and accountability”, given that sometimes “the support was promised,” but was not “delivered.” It is a question of using GDP “as a method for calculating burden sharing: the USA would have 50%, the rest would be divided among the other allies. I hope and expect that the allies agree on this”, because “the Ukrainians need of predictability” and it would send Vladimir Putin the message that it is useless to “wait until we get tired” of supporting Kiev.
EU extends temporary refugee protection until 2026
The EU Council has decided to extend the temporary protection mechanism for refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine until 4 March 2026, in light of the “volatile” situation in that country. The Council communicates this. “As long as bombs continue to fall in Ukraine – says Nicole de Moore, Belgian Undersecretary of State for Asylum and Migration – the situation will not be safe. The ministers today showed renewed solidarity and decided that they will continue to offer protection to the people Ukrainian in the EU”.
