Russia fought back yesterday over new US and EU sanctions imposed over Ukraine, where fighting between Moscow-backed rebels and government troops has intensified since a Malaysian airliner was shot down.
On the ground in Ukraine, heavy fighting between government forces and the separatists has been taking place near the site where Malaysian flight MH17 crashed into wheat and sunflower fields on July 17, shot down by what Washington and Brussels believe was a missile supplied by Russia.
Kiev accused the pro-Russian rebels yesterday of fortifying the area, including with land mines, to prevent the site from being properly investigated. The land mine report could not be independently confirmed. Ukraine is party to a treaty banning land mines; Russia is not.
Meanwhile the confrontation between Moscow and the West entered a new phase this week, with the US and EU taking by far the strongest international steps yet against Moscow over its support for Ukraine’s rebels. New EU and US sanctions unveiled on Tuesday restrict sales of arms and equipment for the oil industry, while Russian state banks are barred from raising money in Western capital markets.
Flows of heavy weapons across the frontier have only increased
Moscow said the sanctions would lead to higher energy prices in Europe and damage cooperation with Washington on international affairs. Yesterday it banned imports of Polish fruit and vegetables and said it might expand the ban to the entire EU.
The new Western sanctions mark the first time Washington and Brussels have adopted measures designed to hurt the overall Russian economy, after weeks of narrow steps targeting only specific individuals blamed for Russia’s Ukraine policy.
German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel said the measures would hurt the European economy but would hurt Russia more. The price was worth paying, he added: “At a time of war and peace, economic policy is not the main consideration.”
Even so, Russian markets rallied, as investors deemed the sanctions less severe than feared, with Russian stocks, bonds and the rouble rising.
Moscow denies Western accusations that it has armed and supported rebels who are fighting Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine.
But Western countries say flows of heavy weapons across the frontier have only increased since flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, killing all 298 people on board.