Russia announces Ukraine attacked Crimea

In a statement made by the Russian Ministry of Defense, it was announced that Ukraine attacked Crimea with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

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Russia announces Ukraine attacked Crimea

In the statement made by the ministry regarding the attacks that took place between 20:30 and 22:30 Moscow time yesterday, it was stated that Kyiv's attempt to carry out a "terrorist attack" against targets on Crimean territory using aircraft-type UAVs was thwarted.

The statement included the phrase, "Russian air defense systems destroyed 26 Ukrainian UAVs over the Crimean Peninsula."

Crimea was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

NEW SANCTIONS ON RUSSIA FROM THE EU

Leaders of EU member states have reached an agreement on the 12th package of sanctions against Russia, which will include a ban on diamond trading.

While the first-day sessions of the EU Leaders' Summit held in Brussels were ongoing, the section of the summit's final declaration regarding sanctions on Russia was shared with journalists.

The declaration stated that the EU is determined to further strengthen sanctions against Russia and to implement them fully and effectively.

The declaration, which used the phrase "The EU Council welcomes the adoption of the 12th package of sanctions," noted that no country should provide support to Russia in the war.

The 12th sanctions package included new export bans, including on diamonds, measures to tighten the oil price cap to reduce Russia's oil revenue, and strengthening the fight against the circumvention of sanctions.

The new sanctions, the full details of which have not yet been shared, include a ban on the import of non-industrial diamonds from Russia starting January 1.

The sanctions, which impose additional obligations on firms providing services to ensure the price cap on Russian oil is not breached, require EU companies to include no-re-export clauses in contracts to prevent Russia from importing products that can be used for both civilian and military purposes.

The approval of member states was required for the new sanctions to enter into force.

Austria, which wanted Raiffeisen Bank removed from Ukraine's list of war sponsors, was not approving the sanctions package in question.

The EU has implemented 11 packages of sanctions against Russia so far due to the war. Within this framework, a wide range of restrictions have been applied to Russia, including trade, finance, energy—including oil and coal—industry, technology, transport, dual-use and luxury goods, and gold.

On the other hand, the decisions of EU countries regarding the import ban on Russian oil transported by sea and the price cap of 60 dollars per barrel went into effect on December 5, 2022.

In this context, if Russian oil is sold to third countries at a level higher than the set price, companies in G7 and EU countries cannot provide various services such as shipping, insurance, and brokerage for this oil. For these services to be provided, Russian oil must be traded below the price cap.

News Source: AA