EU to close airspace to Russian airlines and fund weapons for Ukraine

Brussels — The European Union’s chief executive says the 27-nation bloc will close its airspace to Russian airlines, fund supplies of weapons to Ukraine and ban some pro-Kremlin media outlets in response to Russia’s invasion.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Sunday that “for the first time ever, the European Union will finance the purchase and delivery of weapons and other equipment to a country that is under attack.”

Von der Leyen added that “we are shutting down the EU airspace for Russians. We are proposing a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. These aircraft will no more be able to land in, take off or overfly the territory of the EU.”

She said also the EU will ban “the Kremlin’s media machine. The state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.”

Von der Leyen added that the EU will target Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko for supporting Russia’s widespread military campaign in Ukraine.

“We will hit Lukashenko’s regime with a new package of sanctions,” she said.

The announcement came after Germany said Sunday it was committing 100 billion euros, or about $113 billion, to a special armed forces fund and would keep its defense spending above 2% of GDP from now on, a move brought on by Russia’s invasion.

The announcement, which came hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian nuclear forces put on alert, underscored how Russia’s war on Ukraine was rewriting Europe’s post-World War II security policy in ways that were unthinkable only a few weeks ago.

Anti-war protesters, meanwhile, took to the streets in Berlin, Rome, Prague, Istanbul and other cities — even Russian cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg — to demand an end to the war, the largest ground offensive on the continent since WWII.

Tens of thousands of people massed Sunday in front of Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate, with some carrying posters with slogans such as “Hands off Ukraine,” “Tanks to Windmills” and “Putin, go to therapy and leave Ukraine and the world in peace.”

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s announcement of new defense funding is significant for Germany, which has come under criticism from the United States and other NATO allies for not investing adequately in its defense budget. NATO member states committed to spending 2% of their GDP on defense, but Germany has consistently spent much less.

“It’s clear we need to invest significantly more in the security of our country, in order to protect our freedom and our democracy,” Scholz told a special session of the Bundestag in Berlin.

Scholz said the 100 billion euro fund was currently a one-time measure for 2022. It wasn’t immediately clear whether similar funding would be allocated in future years. But Scholz indicated Germany will exceed the 2% of GDP threshold going forward, signaling an overall future increase in defense spending.

The EU’s plan to fund weapons purchases was unprecedented and would use millions of euros to help buy air defence systems, anti-tank weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine’s armed forces.

It would also supply things such as fuel, protective gear, helmets and first aid kits.

The system might also use EU money to reimburse EU countries that have already sent lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine this year, giving an incentive for those countries to invest more in such assistance.

To bolster its military training and support missions around the world, the 27-nation bloc has set up a European Peace Facility, a fund with a ceiling of around 5.7 billion euros (£4.8 billion).

Some of the money can be used to train and equip partner countries, including with lethal weapons.

Ms von der Leyen said that beyond the weapons purchases, EU nations would shut down EU airspace for Russians – a decision that more than a dozen EU members had already announced.

On the sanctions front, Japan joined the United States and European nations in cutting key Russian banks from the Swift international financial banking system.

Japan will also freeze assets of Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top Russian officials, while sending 100 million dollars in emergency humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters.

Source: AP

--Agencies