"These are among the darkest hours of Europe since the Second World War. The EU will respond in the strongest possible terms and agree on the harshest package of sanctions we have ever implemented," Borrell stated.
As the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in turn, the EU will impose sanctions against strategic sectors of the Russian economy, blocking access to key technologies and markets. "Today we will present a package of large-scale and targeted sanctions to European leaders for their approval. With this package, we will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy, blocking their access to key technologies and markets. We will weaken Russia's economic base and its ability to modernize."
According to Ursula von der Leyen, "the sanctions will target strategic sectors of Russia’s economy. We will freeze Russian assets in the EU and stop access of Russian banks to our financial market." "This is designed to take a heavy toll on the Kremlin’s ability to finance war," she stressed.
The leaders of the 27 EU countries will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday evening to discuss the situation around Ukraine and further steps towards Russia.
