The European Union will slap a tenth sanctions package on Russia to begin on the one-year anniversary of the current conflict. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised this to Ukrainian President Zelensky after he complained that there were too few sanctions going around.
“Russia is paying a heavy price, as our sanctions are eroding its economy, throwing it back by a generation,” von der Leyen said on a visit to Ukraine.
That’s not exactly true. The International Monetary Fund is now projecting that Russia will have positive GDP growth this year at a rate higher than Germany and the U.K. But, sanctions it is, although von der Leyen did not say exactly what would be sanctioned. Some are hoping actor Steven Seagal will be included in the sanctions package.
Meanwhile, Ukraine says that Russia is amassing a 500,000-person army for a new offensive. That is quite a bit larger than the 300,000 that Putin committed to a few months ago so where did these extra 200,000 people come from? Unexplained.
