The EU has adopted 21 rounds of sanctions against Russia since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, German newspaper Die Welt reported Monday.
“For autumn I am putting forward the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war,” Kallas told Die Welt. “Once adopted, they would immediately raise the total number of sanctioned Russian entities by a third.”
The chief diplomat urged Europe to toughen on Russia in the face of the summer’s intensive bombing of Ukraine. “If we respond too weakly, we will see even more such incidents,” she said.
The comments came weeks after the EU adopted a watered-down sanctions package that was approved after protracted negotiations among member states.
Greece in particular objected to measures aimed at restricting the transfer of Russian LNG, which Athens feared would have a disproportionate impact on the country’s shipping sector.
The sanctions, which Kallas said have deprived Russia’s war machine of “over €1 trillion”, currently target 3,000 individuals and entities, according to the European Commission.
MNA