NATO, European Union Choke out Russia
NATO Allies are boosting their political and practical support to Ukraine as it continues to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Thousands of anti-tank weapons, hundreds of air-defence missiles and thousands of small arms and ammunition stocks are being sent to Ukraine. Allies are also providing millions of euros worth of financial assistance and humanitarian aid, including medical supplies to help Ukrainian forces.
In light of Russia’s actions, we will draw all the necessary consequences for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture. Allies have held consultations under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty. We will continue to take all measures and decisions required to ensure the security and defence of all Allies. We have deployed defensive land and air forces in the eastern part of the Alliance, and maritime assets across the NATO area. We have activated NATO’s defence plans to prepare ourselves to respond to a range of contingencies and secure Alliance territory, including by drawing on our response forces. We are now making significant additional defensive deployments of forces to the eastern part of the Alliance. We will make all deployments necessary to ensure strong and credible deterrence and defence across the Alliance, now and in the future. Our measures are and remain preventive, proportionate and non-escalatory.
Our commitment to Article 5 of the Washington Treaty is iron-clad. We stand united to protect and defend all Allies. Freedom will always win over oppression.
The EU stands united in its solidarity with Ukraine and will continue to support Ukraine and its people together with its international partners, including through additional political, financial and humanitarian support.
The EU has reacted swiftly and decisively to Russia’s aggression by adopting further restrictive measures in response, that will have massive and severe consequences for Russia.
In response to Russia’s acts of aggression on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, the EU leaders and institutions have strongly condemned these acts of violence and the violation of international law. They demand that Russia immediately ceases military actions, unconditionally withdraws all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respects Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.
In a joint statement on 26 February, the leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada, and the US reiterated their resolve to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate it from the international financial system and the Western economies. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, proposed a set of new measures to EU leaders to strengthen the EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and cripple Putin’s ability to finance his war machine.
Meeting on 24 February, the European leaders agreed on a package of massive and targeted sanctions against Russia. It includes:
- Financial sanctions, targeting 70% of the Russian banking market and key state owned companies, including in defence
- Targeting the energy sector, a key economic area which especially benefits the Russian state. European export ban will hit the oil sector by making it impossible for Russia to upgrade its refineries
- Banning the sale of aircrafts and equipment to Russian airlines
- Limiting Russia’s access to crucial technology, such as semiconductors or cutting-edge software
- Restricting access to the EU for Russian diplomats and related groups and business people
The EU is closely coordinating its actions with partners and allies – NATO, G7, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Norway, South Korea, Japan and Australia.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in 2014, the EU has made close to €1 billion in assistance available to eastern Ukraine, including humanitarian aid and socio-economic development support. EU support has helped protect basic living standards and alleviate the suffering of the populations in conflict areas, support demining actions and provide legal and psycho-social assistance to the population.
“History has proven that societies and alliances built on trust and freedom are resilient and successful. And that is exactly what the autocrats fear. The European Union stands with Ukraine and its people. We will continue to support them. Ukraine will prevail.”
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission
On 23 February, in response to Russia recognising the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine and its decision to send troops into the region, the EU adopted a package of sanctions.These sanctions target:
- those in the Russian State Duma who voted for this violation of international law and of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine
- decision makers responsible for the threatening of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and individuals and entities financially or materially supporting or benefitting from them
- businesspersons/oligarchs providing essential financial and material support to the Russian Government
- the most senior military commanders of the Russian armed forces and high profile individuals who wage a disinformation war against Ukraine
- economic relations between the two non-government controlled regions and the EU, to ensure that those responsible clearly feel the economic consequences of their illegal and aggressive actions
- banks that are financing Russian decision makers and operations in those territories
- the ability of the Russian state and government to access the EU’s capital and financial markets and services, to limit the financing of escalatory and aggressive policies
EU assistance to Ukraine
Ukraine is a priority partner for the European Union. The EU supports Ukraine in ensuring a stable, prosperous and democratic future for its citizens. The Association Agreement, including its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is the main tool for bringing Ukraine and the EU closer together, promoting deeper political ties, stronger economic links and respect for common values.
Since 2014, Ukraine has embarked on an ambitious reform programme to accelerate economic growth and improve the livelihoods of its citizens. In that timeframe, the EU and financial institutions have mobilised more than €17 billion in grants and loans to support reforms, while applying conditionality dependent on their progress.
In January 2022, the Commission proposed to step up financial support to Ukraine with a new emergency macro-financial assistance (MFA) package of up to €1.2 billion, to help Ukraine face the current economic and geopolitical challenges.
The Commission will also allocate an additional €120 million to Ukraine, significantly increasing its bilateral assistance to Ukraine in grants this year, up from the €160 million that was initially foreseen. This support will strengthen Ukraine’s state-building and resilience efforts.
In addition, the EU will continue to invest in Ukraine’s future, through our Economic and Investment Plan, which aims to leverage up to €6.5 billion in investments over the next years.