Ursula von der Leyen presented the sixth round of EU sanctions against Moscow on May 4. At each round, the EU announced that they had successfully destroyed the Russian economy. So, they have destroyed it for the sixth time now....
The new sanctions are directed at 58 individuals, among whom are alleged Bucha criminals, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s family, and Patriarch Kirill; excluding Sberbank from SWIFT; an oil embargo within six months; an embargo on oil products within one year; stopping services from consulting firms to Russian entities.
The proposals will now be approved by EU member governments by May 9. It is not excluded that some governments will ask and obtain exceptions.
By announcing a ban on Russian oil within six months, the EU is ironically favoring Russia by provoking an increase in oil prices and therefore of Russian income. Meanwhile, Russia has time to find new customers for that oil, a much easier proposition than selling natural gas, as oil does not need to be liquefied and de-liquefied to reach consumers.
But even if Russia finds no customers for that oil, oil exports to the EU represent only 2.6% of the Russian economy. Not exactly a deadly blow.
