Austria's FM says EU sanctions will impact military-industrial complex of Russia, Belarus

As the European Union revealed the sixth package of sanctions against the Russian Federation on Wednesday, the Foreign Minister of Austria, Alexander Schellenberg stated that the latest EU sanctions package will harm Russia's and Belarus' military-industrial complex. As per the reports of RIA Novosti, Schellenberg also stated that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia will probably restrict the import of petroleum goods and oil.

After a meeting of the Austrian Cabinet of Ministers, the Foreign Minister stated that Belarusian banks are also affected by the exclusion of more Russian banks from the SWIFT system, including Russia's largest bank, Sberbank. He claimed that especially, the powerful sanctions are against the military-industrial complex in Russia and Belarus.

Updated sanctions list to include new names

He went on to say that the updated sanctions list will include new names, according to RIA Novosti. Following the launch of a special military operation in Ukraine, the EU already imposed five sets of sanctions on Russia's individuals, organizations, financial sector and energy sector. However, Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary for Russian President Vladimir Putin stated before that Russia has been prepared for these sanctions.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the policy of containment and weakening of Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions will impact the entire global economy. He further said that the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people in Russia. Putin also said that the United States and the European Union had effectively defaulted on their obligations to Russia, freezing its foreign exchange reserves.

Sixth package of sanctions

In the meanwhile, earlier today, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the sixth package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation stating that by the end of the year, the European Union wants to ban all Russian oil imports and delist Sberbank from the SWIFT international payments network. During an address to the European Parliament, she stated that they now propose a ban on Russian oil, acknowledging that this is going to be simple. But she said that all they have to do now is put their "heads down and get to work."

Image: AP