EU agrees on ‘very severe blows” against Moscow, France says

French President Emmanuel Macron says France and its European allies have decided to “inflict very severe blows on Moscow,” further sanctioning individuals and targeting finance, energy and other sectors.

The legal texts for the sanctions will be finalized and submitted for approval to EU foreign ministers later Friday.

France’s finance minister Bruno Le Maire says the European Union wants to cut all links between Russia and the global financial system, after the bloc agreed new sanctions against Moscow over its attack on Ukraine.

The EU “wants to cut all the links between Russia and the global financial system,” he says at the start of a meeting of European finance ministers. “We want to isolate Russia financially… We want to dry up the financing.”

Macron says the EU has decided on economic aid for Ukraine in the amount of 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion).

He also calls the Belorussian government “an accomplice” in Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine, and said it will also be targeted.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenky says on Twitter he secured a promise of $50 million in aid from Finland.