The 19th package of sanctions against Russia approved by the EU is a leading topic in the Western press, writes BTA.
Europe must do more to break Russia's war machine, writes in the headline of its editorial in the "Independent" newspaper.
US President Donald Trump's sanctions against Russian oil are a commendable change for a volatile president, but Ukraine needs its European allies to do much more to hit (Russian President Vladimir - ed.) Putin where it hurts, the British newspaper points out. Despite the cordial atmosphere of the meeting in Alaska in August, Trump seemed to have finally lost his patience with Putin, the publication added.
"As a plan and a way to end the war, it is completely understandable to tighten sanctions against the Putin regime. However, this requires, as President Trump has rightly called for, European Union countries to stop buying Russian oil and gas. The two main consumers are Hungary and Slovakia, which also have a softer stance towards the Kremlin. They must be pushed by the rest of the EU and the White House to finally get rid of Russian hydrocarbons, "the Independent calls."
In addition, the British publication notes, European countries must seize more Russian financial assets with which to finance the supply of weapons to Ukraine, and put additional pressure on Putin to abandon his imperial ambitions.
The other vital factor is the extent to which China and India will undermine these sanctions by putting their export profits and business with Russia first, the newspaper notes. In recent months, President Trump has sometimes shown a tendency to punish them for opposing him, but now both countries are sufficiently significant world powers to withstand such pressure - the nightmare for the US and the West would be if China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, together with smaller satellites such as Venezuela, formed a modern "axis of evil", whose interests are diametrically opposed to those of the Western powers, writes "Independent".
Such a thing should not be allowed - that is why it is necessary for all Western powers, including America, to exhaust Russia economically and financially, to flood the battlefield with the most modern weapons that Russia and its partners would not be able to resist, and with missile systems that would adversely affect Russian military capabilities, the newspaper in the United Kingdom points out. By the fourth anniversary of the "special military operation" Putin, whose idea was to achieve victory in three weeks, Russia could be decisively defeated, summarizes "Independent".
New sanctions and weapons will not stop Russia; it is time for Ukraine's allies to change their mistaken strategy, writes for "The Guardian" expert on international politics and security Christopher S. Chivis. Despite many rounds of sanctions, more advanced weapons for Ukraine and the development of more effective weapons by Ukraine itself, such as drones, Russia is still far from capitulating, Chivis points out.
"The EU has imposed its 19th package of sanctions against Russia, but their effect is waning due to China's support for Moscow. So don't expect these additional sanctions to end the war any time soon," Chivis warns, noting that they need to be combined with a more open negotiating stance from the West.
This could mean, he writes, a deal that is more favorable to Russia than the West would like. If the war ends with a Russian occupation of Donbas, that would be an unfair outcome for Ukraine and a cause for discontent among its supporters, but it would still be a better scenario than many others, the expert emphasizes.
Some ardent supporters of Ukraine may secretly want the war to continue, for example, to repel the Russian threat by keeping it within Ukraine's borders; However, several years without progress should make us rethink what American power can achieve in Ukraine at an acceptable price, notes Chivis.
The European Union has taken action to economically strangle one of the key sectors with which Russia finances its war in Ukraine - hydrocarbons, writes the Spanish newspaper "Pais".
The new measures are expected to help Brussels put pressure on Moscow, notes on the other hand, the "Figaro" newspaper. Three and a half years after the start of the war in Ukraine, the European Union has managed to almost completely free itself from Russian oil, but it is still far from freeing itself from Russian gas: last year 20% of gas imports into Europe came from Russia, and in 2021 the percentage was 45% - this is a significant decrease, but the EU remains among Moscow's main customers, the French publication notes.