World expresses outrage, plans stronger Russia sanctions

Brussels: World leaders expressed a raw outrage shrouded by an impotence to immediately come to the aid of Ukraine to avoid a major war in Europe, condemning Russia’s attack on its neighbor as the European Union and others promised unprecedented sanctions to hit the Kremlin.

NATO has moved to beef up its eastern flank facing Russia and planned a virtual leaders’ summit for Friday after President Vladimir Putin warned anyone listening that any interference would “lead to consequences you have never seen in history.”

EU and NATO member Lithuania declared a state of emergency since the Baltic nation borders Russia’s Kaliningrad region to the southwest and Russia’s ally Belarus to the east. NATO nations have 100 jets and 120 ships on high alert as deterrence.

“Make no mistake: we will defend every ally against any attack on every inch of NATO territory,” said NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called it a “barbaric attack” on an independent nation that also targeted “the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order.”

The EU will hold an emergency summit in Brussels. But no one promised to move in militarily and defend Ukraine as it could touch off a major European war. So instead, most of the world — but not China — condemned and threatened to hit the Russian elites with, in the words of Von der Leyen — “massive and targeted sanctions.”

She will put to EU leaders late Thursday a proposal that “will target strategic sectors of the Russian economy by blocking the access to technologies and markets that are key for Russia.” She said the sanctions, if approved, “will weaken Russia’s economic base and its capacity to modernize. And in addition, we will freeze Russian assets in the European Union and stop the access of Russian banks to European financial markets.”

Like the first package of sanctions that were imposed when Russia recognized the two breakaway eastern Ukrainian republics, von der Leyen said all Western powers were walking in lockstep. —AP