Russia retaliates against EU's sixth round of sanctions partially banning oil imports

Amid the ongoing ravaging war in Eastern Europe, Russia has retaliated against the European Union's (EU's) latest round of sanctions on oil imports. Reacting to the EU's sixth round of sanctions, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, stated that Moscow will find other importers of its oil. As she (President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen) rightly said yesterday, Russia will find other importers. Noteworthy that now she contradicts her own yesterday’s statement. Very quick change of the mindset indicates that the EU is not in a good shape [sic]," he wrote in a  tweet on Tuesday.  

Earlier on Monday, the European Council agreed on the sixth round of sanctions package which is expected to cut around two-thirds of oil imports from Russia to the nations of the bloc. In addition, the bloc also decided to remove Sberbank from the SWIFT international payment system, ban three more Russian state-owned broadcasters, and sanction individuals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine. Notably, Sberbank is Russia's largest bank and is majorly owned by the Russian government.

EU agreed to phase out its dependency on Russian gas, oil & coal: Von der Leyen

"I am glad that tonight leaders agreed in principle on the sixth sanctions package. This is an important step forward.
We also agreed to work on a mechanism to provide Ukraine with a new, exceptional macro-financial assistance package of up to €9 billion," European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. She also stated that the 27-member block has agreed to phase out its dependency on Russian gas, oil and coal as soon as possible. On Monday, May 30, the EU leaders assembled in Brussels for a two-day meeting to reach a final agreement on the enforcement of a Russian oil embargo.

Russia says it continues to take steps to combat sanctions against it

It is significant to mention here that several countries and organizations across the world have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia since it launched a full-fledged war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian government claimed that it continues to take steps to stabilize the economy and combat the sanctions imposed by the Western countries. Addressing a virtual meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council (EEC) on May 27, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that his government is acting decisively to ensure the smooth functioning of the market and financial sector. 

Image: AP