Lamenting ‘dark hours,’ EU promises harshest sanctions ever against Moscow

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is planning the “strongest, the harshest package” of sanctions it has ever considered at an emergency summit Thursday, as the Russian military attacked Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that “the target is the stability in Europe and the whole of the international peace order, and we will hold President [Vladimir] Putin accountable for that.”

“We will present a package of massive and targeted sanctions to European leaders for approval,” she said.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called it the “strongest, the harshest package” ever considered.

“A major nuclear power has attacked a neighbor country and is threatening reprisals of any other states that may come to the rescue,” Borrell said. “This is not only the greatest violation of international law, it’s a violation of the basic principles of human coexistence. It’s costing many lives with unknown consequences ahead of us. The European Union will respond in the strongest possible terms.”

Von der Leyen said the “massive and targeted sanctions” she will put to EU leaders “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.

“We are closely aligned with our partners and allies the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, but also, for example, Japan and Australia,” she said.

As Russian troops attacked Ukraine, world leaders reacted Thursday with outrage — one called it “an unjustified barbarian act” — and vowed to both tighten sanctions and hold the Kremlin accountable.

The turmoil from the beginning of a long-feared act of aggression rippled from Europe to Asia. Stock markets plunged, oil prices surged, and European aviation officials warned of a high risk to civilian aircraft over Ukraine, reminding air operators that “this is now an active conflict zone.”

In New York, the UN Security Council held an extraordinary emergency meeting meant to dissuade Russia from sending troops into Ukraine. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ plea to “give peace a chance” came just as Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on Russian TV to announce a military operation that he maintained was to protect civilians in Ukraine.

Putin, who said that rebels in eastern Ukraine had asked Moscow for military assistance, warned other countries that any effort to interfere with the Russian operation would lead to “consequences they have never seen.”

As leaders across Asia and Europe scrambled to condemn the attack, explosions were heard in Kyiv and other cities in Ukraine. Nations around the world this week have also imposed a raft of new sanctions on Russia.

“In these dark hours, our thoughts are with Ukraine and the innocent women, men and children as they face this unprovoked attack and fear for their lives,” European Council President Charles Michel and Von der Leyen said on Twitter. “We will hold the Kremlin accountable.”

Moscow had massed more than 150,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders. On Monday, Putin recognized the independence of two separatist regions in eastern Ukraine and ordered Russian forces there for what he called “peacekeeping.”

Guterres at the UN disputed that, saying the troops were entering another country without its consent.

The top EU chiefs said Thursday that the invasion of Ukraine “will impose massive and severe consequences on Russia” and that there will be more sanctions.

The 27-nation bloc had already imposed some sanctions to punish Moscow for its recognition of breakaway republics in Ukraine earlier this week. EU leaders will discuss additional and harsher punitive measures at a summit meeting later Thursday.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Russia’s attack “a terrible day for Ukraine and a dark day for Europe” and “a blatant violation of international law. It cannot be justified by anything.”

In a bulletin Thursday, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency said “there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft” and that “the presence and possible use of a wide range of ground and airborne warfare systems poses a HIGH risk for civil flights operating at all altitudes and flight levels.”