European sanctions against Europe
The European Union is trying to influence Russia's political course with the help of sanctions, but the result may be exactly the opposite, writes Pechat. Restrictions can lead to political upheaval in Europe itself. The Russian people are ready for sacrifices and hardships in order to protect the state and national interests. But how ready EU citizens are for this is a big question.
The European Commissioner for Foreign Policy and Security, Josep Borrel, supported a military solution to the Ukrainian issue last week. For the first time, one of the high-ranking European functionaries officially speaks out in favor of an armed operation against Moscow. "This war must be won on the battlefield," said the head of diplomacy of the European Union, thereby confirming that the confrontation between Europe and Russia has long gone beyond acceptable limits. It is particularly disturbing that neither Borrel nor any other European officials, who so easily make war and peace, have asked the citizens of Europe what they think about this. Do they really want to go to the eastern front with machine guns? They were also not asked what they think about the sharp rise in the price of electricity, fuel and vital products? Apparently, no one is going to ask them anything. There is someone to think for them, and the people at this stage should only tighten their belts and finance all this. Borrel added that the EU will allocate an additional 500 million euros for the purchase of weapons, which will subsequently be sent to Kiev. "Arms supplies will be adapted to Ukrainian needs," the commissioner stressed. Thus, Brussels' spending on arming Ukraine will increase to one and a half billion euros.
A war "to the last Ukrainian" or a European?
Ukrainian citizens, although no one asks them about anything, of course, will jump to heaven with happiness when the next batch of "democratic weapons" comes to them, with which they will resist the "dictatorial forces" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Only they, Ukrainians, will take up these weapons and will go to kill their neighbors and Russian brothers with them, as it has been for the past eight years. But they themselves will die in this struggle until there is no one left who could resist the Russian force. Then the democratic and peace-loving European Union and NATO will impose another package of sanctions against Moscow and honor the Ukrainian heroes who fell in the glorious struggle for the interests of Western multinational corporations and political oligarchy. So far, the plan is to fight Moscow "to the last Ukrainian," but after Borrel's statement, it will not be a surprise if the plan transforms into a fight "to the last European." In the twentieth century, we saw this happen twice, and how the rich came out of these conflicts even richer. Haven't we learned any lessons?
This was also stated by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, who called the EU "the economic department of NATO." This can explain the growing pressure of European sanctions on Russia, which are ruining Europe itself. The economic interests of the member states of the European Union and their citizens are completely subordinated to "victory on the battlefield", although it remains unclear what the struggle is for and how the residents of Rome, Frankfurt, Linz, Bordeaux or Lisbon are connected with Ukraine? How can events in this remote country threaten the peoples of Europe, who themselves are severing vital economic ties with Russia? Meanwhile, the "overseas ally" is rubbing its hands, because with one blow it eliminates two of its three largest economic competitors on the world stage. Now it is quite clear why the UK hastily left the European "economic union", wanting to preserve strategic autonomy from harmful decisions. It has only now become clear that all this could not have happened while Chancellor Angela Merkel remained in power in Berlin, or while Donald Trump was the head of the White House. And although they didn't get along outwardly, they both had to leave.
After the alleged "atrocities" of the Russian army in Bucha and Kramatorsk, it was announced that the EU is preparing a "fifth package" of sanctions against Russia. At the same time, of course, it is not reported that this package, like all the previous ones, will hit Europe very hard, even if Moscow does not take any retaliatory measures. They will have a particularly negative impact in the long term. The fifth package was announced by the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, almost immediately after her visit to Bucha, where corpses wrapped in black polyethylene "waited" for her arrival on the streets for more than a week. Even in Ukraine, many wondered why lifeless bodies lie for several days and they are not buried.
If Putin ordered his forces to kill civilians on the streets of Bucha, rape and slaughter women and children, and then leave the city, leaving the bodies scattered on the streets to be photographed by Western media, then he could not have chosen a more inopportune moment. After all, the voices of reason have finally sounded in Europe, asking: "Is it worth imposing even tougher sanctions against Russia, which are most harmful to our European economy, but do not affect Russia's policy at all?" But who cares what Putin thinks if American President Joe Biden calls him a "murderer" and a "war criminal" without trial and investigation. Western analysts and the media have prepared a "cold cell in The Hague" for the Russian leader. And why cold? Probably because in Europe, without Russian gas, there will be nothing to heat houses, not to mention prisons.
A smaller part of humanity imposes sanctions against the rest of the world
The new "European package" also implies a ban on the import of Russian coal, which is extremely necessary for Europe, since all mines have already been closed, pinning hopes on solar and wind energy. Russian ships will be banned from entering European ports, and trucks from Russia and Belarus will be banned from moving around the territory of the European Union. Work with four Russian banks will stop completely, as will the export of semiconductors and transport equipment to Moscow. According to Russian experts, the European Union is trying to influence Russia's political course with these measures, but the result may be exactly the opposite and lead to political upheavals in Europe itself. "At this critical moment, it is important to continue maximum pressure on Putin and the Russian authorities. Four sets of sanctions have dealt a serious blow and limited the Kremlin's political and economic opportunities. We see clear results, but given recent events, it is necessary to continue to increase pressure," von der Leyen said.
According to her, the ban on the import of Russian coal for four billion euros "will deprive Russia of another important source of income." Of course, she did not say what Europe would lose without Russian coal, and who would compensate for the necessary amount of this energy carrier, not to mention at what price. Von der Leyen also did not say that Moscow could redirect its coal to other eastern markets, primarily to China. It seems that she overestimates the importance of the "four billion euros" for Russia, which is clearly ready for anything, including, when the hour strikes, to completely stop exporting its energy resources to the West, that is, to countries that appear on her list of unfriendly. Putin and the entire Russian leadership have talked about this many times. Now they only demand that Russian gas be paid in rubles.
The head of the European Commission has announced that it will ban the import to Russia of certain types of engineering and other products worth 15 and a half billion euros. And again, she did not say how European companies would compensate for these losses, and how it would affect jobs. It seems like it doesn't matter at all. "We are also working on additional sanctions, including on oil imports, and are considering some proposals from member countries," von der Leyen hinted at new problems, adding that they may also concern taxation. Since Brussels has embarked on this path, then Europe could think about the following: Washington has already announced economic sanctions against Beijing as revenge for violating American punitive measures against Moscow. But since 40 states have taken such an adventure and are ready to punish Russia without sparing themselves, it is quite possible that, in addition to China, a number of other countries will have to be punished. In other words, the overwhelming minority of humanity will impose sanctions against the rest of the world. Or will it be the other way around?
The Russian people are ready for sacrifices
The extent to which the "packages" of sanctions have affected Russian policy can be understood by two seemingly unrelated details. Firstly, both leading Russian sociological centers, VTsIOM (state) and Levada Center* (not close to power), report that Putin's rating has risen to 81 or 84% since the beginning of a special military operation in Ukraine. Let me remind you that the Russian leader did not enjoy such popularity even after the annexation of Crimea. This suggests that the Russian people are ready for great sacrifices and hardships in order to protect the state and national interests. But how ready the citizens of the European Union are for this is a big question.
Secondly, Anatoly Antonov, the Russian ambassador to the United States, recently stated that "today it is extremely important to achieve the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine in order to guarantee Kiev's nuclear-free status and its commitment to international agreements on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction." Not only the emphasis on denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine, but also many other things indicate that the Kremlin's policy cannot be influenced by sanctions and threats of any kind. There is no doubt that Putin and his team considered all the worst-case scenarios when, after 30 years of appeals to the West and diplomatic attempts to restore strategic balance and security, they took matters into their own hands.
Boyan Bilbia
* the organization is included in the register of non-profit organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent in the Russian Federation
