The European Council on Dec. 21 announced its decision to extend economic sanctions against Russia for another six months, as fighting in Ukraine’s east picked up again with 57 attacks over 24 hours.
The
sanctions, imposed over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its actions in the
Donbas, will now be in effect until July 31, 2016, at which point they may once
again be prolonged.
While Italy
had delayed the decision to extend sanctions over disagreements with Germany,
it was ultimately decided that the measures are necessary, given that the Minsk
agreements have not yet been fulfilled – and they will expire on Dec. 31.
Fighting in
Ukraine’s east declined drastically after another ceasefire was declared on
Sept. 1, but recent weeks have seen an uptick in fighting. On Dec. 21,
Ukrainian officials said they had recorded 57 attacks on Ukrainian forces by
separatists in the occupied territories.
Despite
speculation in recent weeks that the sanctions may be dropped in light of the
need for international unity in fighting terrorism – an area in which Russia
has sought closer ties with the West – sanctions were seen as the only way to
prevent the peace deal with Ukraine from falling apart.
While the
Kremlin has yet to comment on the extension, Russian state-run media took the
opportunity to lash out at Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of breaking the Minsk
agreements.
“Noone
Knows Why, but EU Extends Anti-Russia Sanctions for Six Months” (sic), read a
headline on Sputnik International, Russia’s state-run, an aggressively
anti-Western media outlet.
While the
Kremlin has mostly played down the effect of the sanctions, the Russian economy
has nosedived since the sanctions took effect, with the damage made worse by
low oil prices. Russia’s economy was expected to shrink by between 3 percent
and 5 percent this year, the most since Putin took office.
Russian
Economic Minister Alexei Ulyukayev, however, said last week that an extension
of the sanctions was expected and would therefore have no impact on the Russian
economy.
