Assurances Galore but Ukraine Left Alone to Fight against Russia
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 25: As Ukraine was left alone by the world powers to fend for itself against the mighty force of Russia, the country’s President Volodymyr Zelensky regretted that none came to its aid when it mattered most.
He said on Friday that they are defending their country alone. Speaking after a reported Russian operation in the capital of Kyiv, Zelensky said the world was still just observing the events in Ukraine from a distance. “This morning, we are defending our country alone. Just like yesterday, the most powerful country in the world looked on from a distance,” he said in a Facebook video.
He agreed that the countries supporting Ukraine’s cause had imposed economic sanctions on Russia for invasion into Ukraine. But the sanctions imposed on Moscow were not deterrent enough to curtail Russian military operations against Ukraine, he said. “Russia was hit with sanctions yesterday, but these are not enough to get these foreign troops off our soil. Only through solidarity and determination can this be achieved,” he added.
Leaders from a number of countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia’s military operations in Ukraine. They have also imposed heavy sanctions on Russia. The US President Joe Biden on Thursday said the US would introduce a new wave of sanctions against Russia in a broad effort to isolate Moscow from the global economy.
The new package of sanctions aims to cut Russia off from the US financial markets and includes freezing the assets of four major Russian banks, including VTB Bank, the nation’s second-biggest bank. Hours after that, President of the European Council Charles Michel said the EU has made a political decision to impose additional sanctions on Russia over its military operation in Ukraine. “We took a political decision to add an additional package of mass sanction which will be painful for the Russian regime,” Michel said after the extraordinary EU Summit.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the new EU sanctions against Russia would hit 70 percent of the Russian banking sector, key state-run corporations and deprive Russia of access to modern technologies. “First, this package includes financial sanctions that cut Russia’s access to the most important capital markets. We are now targeting 70% of the Russian banking market. But also, key state-owned companies including in field of defence,” von der Leyen said after the extraordinary EU Summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognized Ukraine’s breakaway regions – Donetsk and Luhansk – as independent entities. Later, Putin ordered special military operations “to protect” the people in eastern Ukraine and “demilitarise” the country virtually launching a war against Ukraine.
India, however, believe is bilateral payments with Russia would not be impacted by the sanctions against Moscow. India and Russia bilateral payments are made in Indian rupee. For both imports and exports, payments are made or received in the rupee for shipments. So, sanctions by the West may not have an impact on the payments, barring exchange rate fluctuation, official sources said on Friday. Russia is one of biggest suppliers of defence products and equipment to India mostly under government-to-government contract. The bilateral trade between India and Russia stood at $9.4 billion so far this fiscal year, against $8.1 billion in 2020-21.
