Unprecedented measures are being taken by the EU and members states, including Luxembourg, to provide assistance to Ukraine and step up the pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to recall troops from the country they invaded on Thursday.
Speaking in Brussels on Sunday, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced 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.
“This is a watershed moment,” von der Leyen said.
It follows packages of sanctions, including, after some initial hesitancy, the removal of Russian banks from the Swift international payment system.
No-fly zone
On Sunday, von der Leyen also announced a no-fly zone for Russian aircraft throughout the EU. “Our airspace will be closed to every Russian plane – and that includes the private jets of oligarchs,” the commission president said.
Luxembourg had introduced its own no-fly zone several hours earlier, as transport and defence minister François Bausch had announced via Twitter.
But, as Belarus also entered the war, von der Leyen said that the EU would also be targeting president Alexander Lukashenko's regime. This includes stopping Belarusian exports of products including mineral fuels, tobacco, wood and timber, cement, iron and steel. “We will also extend to Belarus the export restrictions we introduced on dual-use goods for Russia,” von der Leyen said. “This will also avoid any risks of circumvention of our measures against Russia.” In addition, the EU will sanction Belarusians helping the Russian war effort.
Von der Leyen also extended the EU’s support for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees fleeing “Putin’s bombs”. “We are mobilising every effort and every euro to support our Eastern Member States – to host and take care of these refugees,” she explained. She also sought out particular praise for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s leadership and the bravery of the Ukrainian people, saying they are “an inspiration to us all.”
President Zelensky’s leadership and his bravery and the resilience of the Ukrainian people are outstanding and impressive.
Meanwhile, in Luxembourg several hundred people gathered for a show of support for Ukraine at the place Clairefontaine on Saturday morning. Ukrainian nationals were joined by Russians and hundreds of supporters from the international and local communities.
Then on Sunday, a handful of protesters went to the Russian embassy in Dommeldange to make their voices heard.
Organiser Mark Kitchell said that “it was just so wonderful to see Russian, Ukrainian, Luxembourgish and Expats standing side by side, peacefully expressing their outrage at the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There was no hatred, only heartfelt support for our Ukrainian friends.”