Ukraine closes all ports, airspace – Presidential office; Germany, France defend EU sanctions package on Russia as Japanese coys suspend operation in Ukraine
Moscow, Feb. 25, 2022 (Sputnik/NAN)
Ukrainian roads are operating as usual, while all ports and the sky over the country are closed, Mikhail Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said on Friday.
“Key roads and main highways were operating as normal. Of course, there are some traffic jams on them in one direction or another, because panic sentiments, unfortunately, they also exist.
“As for ports, all ports are closed. As for air traffic, the sky is closed,” Podolyak told a briefing.
Railway traffic is generally operating as scheduled, he added.
“Of course, commercial banks are closed but the state banking sector is working. Banks close their branches only in places of military clashes,” Podolyak said.
He added that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s president, remained in the capital.
“He must show what the resilience of the Ukrainian people is,” he added.
Brussels, Feb. 25, 2022
The finance ministers of Germany and France pushed back on Friday against criticism that the EU’s latest salvo of sanctions on Russia for invading Ukraine do not go far enough.
“All options are on the table,’’ Germany’s Christian Lindner told reporters in Paris but emphasised that Russian banks were already “completely blocked’’ from EU financial markets.
France’s Bruno Le Maire said the Russian economy was already feeling the impact of the measures.
Some EU member states, especially the Baltics, had pushed for the harshest sanctions possible after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at an emergency summit in Brussels on Thursday.
This included the immediate expulsion of Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment system, a banking payments communication system.
However, some EU countries, including Germany and Austria, have expressed reservations.
An EU diplomat told dpa that Hungary, Italy and Cyprus also agreed this would be a step too far, too soon.
Latvian President Egils Levites called again on Friday for Russia to be isolated from the world like North Korea.
Levits said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s regime “threatens not only Ukraine but Europe and the whole world.’’
The foreign ministers from the 27 EU states are to meet on Friday for an urgent session on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and adopt the latest sanctions package on Russia.
EU leaders agreed on the wide-ranging measures that target Russia’s energy, finance and transport sectors on Thursday night at a crisis summit in Brussels.
The package includes technology export bans and restricts Moscow’s access to the EU’s financial markets.
“The package of massive and targeted sanctions approved tonight shows how united the EU is,’’ European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in the early hours of Friday.
Von der Leyen said that the measures include sanctions “targeting 70 per cent of the Russian banking market and key state-owned companies,’’ as well as Russia’s energy sector.
The EU also banned the sale of aircraft and equipment to Russian airlines and cut Russia’s access to “crucial technology’’.
Finally, visas, von der Leyen tweeted after six hours of consultations in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was also involved.
“Diplomats and related groups and business people will no longer have privileged access to the EU.’’
EU leaders were meeting after Russia launched a multi-front offensive, including from Belarus, against Ukraine on Thursday which Ukraine has described as a “full-scale invasion” using land, sea and air forces.
The fighting had reached Kiev by Friday morning.
China, which has not criticised Russia for the attack on its neighbour, said once again on Friday that punitive measures were not an appropriate response.
“I will like to reiterate that sanctions have never been an effective way to solve problems,’’ Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for Beijing’s Foreign Ministry said.
Japanese coys suspend operation in Ukraine
Tokyo, Feb. 25, 2022
Meanwhile, Nikkei newspaper on Friday reported that some Japanese companies had suspended operations of their representative offices in Ukraine as Russia’s military action continued in the country.
According to the news outlet, Toyota, carmaker, suspended the work of its dealer company in Ukraine for two days, starting from Feb, 24.
In addition, electronics manufacturer, Makita Corporation, halted activities, while Japan Tobacco Company suspended the work of its plant in central Ukraine.
A total of 57 companies reportedly have branches in Ukraine, with 28 of them engaged in the production sector.
Some companies, including Sumitomo Corp, Itochu, and Marubeni, have evacuated their employees to Japan or Ukraine’s neighbours.
In the early hours of Thursday, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine after the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk requested assistance.
The move prompted backlash from the West, which has intensified sanctions against Russia.
