Ukraine stepped up calls on Thursday for financial sanctions crippling enough to force Moscow to end the war as its officials rushed to evacuate civilians from cities and towns in the east before an anticipated major Russian offensive there.
The democratic world must stop buying Russian oil and cut off Russian banks from the international finance system, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, adding that economic concerns should not come above punishment for civilian deaths that Ukraine and many of its western allies have condemned as war crimes.
“Once and for all, we can teach Russia and any other potential aggressors that those who choose war always lose,” Zelensky said in an address to the Greek parliament. “Those who blackmail Europe with economic and energy crisis always lose.”
Washington, which banned Russian oil imports last month, took further steps on Wednesday to isolate Moscow, sanctioning two major lenders and President Vladimir Putin’s two adult daughters, banning US investment in Russia. Washington also called for its expulsion from the G20 major economies.