European Union To Finance Weapons For Ukraine, Shuts Airspace To Russian Planes

Announcing a series of measures against Russia, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was taking the unprecedented step of financing arms to Ukraine.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen (Getty Images)

New Delhi: The European Union has said that it would purchase weapons and ammunition for Ukraine to help the war-torn country counter Russian assault. The bloc said it would slap Russian ally Belarus with sanctions for having facilitated the invasion.

In a series of fresh sanctions against Russia, the EU has announced that it would also shut its airspace to Russian airlines.

EU financing arms to Ukraine, other sanctions imposed 

Announcing the measures, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union was taking the unprecedented step of financing arms to Ukraine, according to news agency AP. This will be the first time that the 27-nation bloc finances the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack.

Von der Leyen termed the decision to provide funding for the purchase and delivery of arms to Ukraine "a watershed moment for our Union".

We are stepping up our support for Ukraine.

For the first time, the EU will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and equipment to a country under attack.

We are also strengthening our sanctions against the Kremlin.
https://t.co/qEBICNxYa1

— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) February 27, 2022

Foreign ministers of EU countries also gave formal approval to ban transactions with the Russian Central Bank. However, the agreement to cut Russia off from the SWIFT global interbank payment system is yet to be finalised, according to AP. Talks are on over which banks will be cut out of the system. "Work is in progress," said EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. 

On its decision to fund weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, Borrell said the bloc would give 450 million euros ($500 million) for EU member states to buy arms for the nation in conflict.

The latest measures come amid several sanctions announced by EU, including removing certain Russian banks from the SWIFT system, banning all transactions with Russia's central bank, and added restrictions on Russian oligarchs.

The EU has also sanctioned Russian President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergei Lavrov. With the latest sanctions, the European Union has imposed the toughest mesaures taken against any country, implying the bloc's outrage at Putin's assault on Ukraine.

"As the war in Ukraine rages on, and Ukrainians fight bravely for their country, the European Union steps up once more its support for Ukraine and the sanctions against the aggressor -- Putin's Russia," von der Leyen said.

Von der Leyen stated that the sanctions against Belarus were aimed at "the other aggressor in this war", the regime of strongman Alexander Lukashenko. "We will hit Lukashenko's regime with a new package of sanctions," she said.

"We will introduce restrictive measures against their most important sectors. This will stop their exports of products from mineral fuels to tobacco, wood and timber, cement, iron and steel. We will also extend to Belarus the export restrictions we introduced on dual-use goods for Russia," she said. Belarusians helping Russia's military operation would also be sanctioned, she said.

The airspace ban would prohibit flights into or over the EU by "every Russian plane -- and that includes the private jets of oligarchs", she added.

Sanctions against Russian media

The sanctions are also targeted at its media outlets, including Russia Today, known as RT, and Sputnik, and their subsidiaries. Von der Leyen said they "will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin's war and to sow division in our Union".

Sputnik responded with a sardonic statement: "We suggest the European Commission not stop halfway and ban the internet altogether."