EU adopts new Russia sanctions amid Ukraine ceasefire push

Russia said Tuesday that it has sent 20,000 migrants to the fight in the war in Ukraine after they were granted citizenship.

Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee, said the 20,000 "naturalized Russian citizens" who had "dodged the draft" were sent to take part in the "special operation" — the euphemistic term the Kremlin uses to refer to its war in Ukraine.

In remarks reported by Russian state media TASS, Bastrykin said the Investigative Committee had "tracked down 80,000 Russian citizens" who had refused to "show up at military enlistment offices."

They have now been "registered for military service," Bastrykin said at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum.

He added that about 20,000 "new Russian citizens, who for some reason no longer want to live in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, or Kyrgyzstan, are now on the front lines."

The three central Asian countries are former Soviet republics. 

Many migrants head to Russia from the region, where jobs are scarce and the standard of living is lower than in Russia, hoping to gain Russian citizenship after arriving as guest workers.

The Kremlin also uses financial incentives to get volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

Moscow has also deployed soldiers from North Korea to the front, while there have been widespread reports of migrants from countries including Nepal, India, China and Cuba, among others, being recruited to help fight Russia's war in Ukraine.
 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted Tuesday that President Donald Trump has made no concessions to the Kremlin, dismissing criticism of the administration's Ukraine policy during a Senate hearing.

"He hasn't gotten a single concession," Rubio said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

Since taking office in January, Trump has tried to bring the Ukraine war to an end by directly engaging with Russia and President Putin.

Trump has been criticized for embracing Russian narratives on the war, including blaming Ukraine for "starting" the conflict, calling Ukrainian President Zelenskyy a "dictator," and publicly stating that Ukraine will not become a member of NATO, a long-time wish for Kyiv, and a key demand from Moscow.

In April, it was reported that Washington was calling on Ukraine to accept Russian control of Crimea as part of a peace agreement. 

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tuesday there is "great readiness" in the EU to slap another round of sanctions for Moscow's ongoing war in Ukraine.

Speaking on the sidelines of an EU ministerial meeting in Brussels, Wadephul did not specify what new measures were being considered, only that there should not be any "forbidden" ideas.

Wadephul added that Germany is still counting on the US to put pressure on Russia to agree on a ceasefire, after US President Donald Trump spoke with Russia's Vladimir Putin on Monday.

"We have repeatedly made it clear that we expect one thing from Russia, an immediate ceasefire without preconditions," he said.

"It is sobering to see that Russia has not taken this step, and we will have to react. We also expect our US allies not to tolerate this," said.

On the Trump-Putin phone call Monday, Mark Galeotti, director of UK-based consultancy Mayak Intelligence, told DW that it seemed like a "pointless" and "rather inconclusive" conversation.

"Essentially, it's all the old tropes," from the Kremlin, he said, adding that when the Kremlin says "root causes" must be addressed, that is "Russian code" for blaming Ukraine for the war.

"But we didn't get any closer, in reality, to a ceasefire or let alone any kind of meaningful resolution," he added.

The 17th round of EU sanctions on Russia target the so-called "shadow fleet," which are vessels of dubious origin carrying Russian petroleum products used to circumvent restrictions.

The bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said that Tuesday measures target 189 ships, bringing the total to 342 ships now banned from entering EU harbors or accessing a broad range services.

"Restrictive measures on the shadow fleet are intended to dismantle its operational capacity, thereby reducing the oil revenues that support Russia's war economy," a press release said.

Mark Galeotti, director of UK-based consultancy Mayak Intelligence, told DW that although European sanctions on Russia have been "talked up … they are not that meaningful."

"More than anything else, they are closing loopholes, because obviously, the Russians keep trying to find more ways of getting past the sanctions."

"Sanctions are not a magic weapon. They are not going to bring the Russian economy down. They inflict costs and they are successful in doing that," he said, adding that "secondary sanctions" from the US targeting countries doing business with Russia could be more effective. 

He added that Russians can keep up the war and absorb sanctions "if they are willing to accept the price in terms of greater pressure on the on the civilian economy, greater social unrest and so forth," he added.

The UK on Tuesday said new sanctions would target Russia's military, energy and financial sectors, coming as the EU also adopted a new raft of sanctions.

The UK Foreign Office said the dual sanctions were part of "a coordinated effort to secure a just and lasting peace in Ukraine."

The new sanctions are aimed at "entities supporting Russia's military machine, energy exports and information war," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

The sanctions also target "financial institutions helping to fund" Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

"Every ruble by which we cut Kremlin revenues diminishes [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's ability to sow chaos, division and disorder across the world," the statement said.

At the same time, UK Foreign Minister David Lammy said that the UK urged Russia to "agree a full, unconditional ceasefire right away so there can be talks on a just and lasting peace."

The announcement came days after Russia launched 273 drones at Ukrainian cities on Saturday, described as the largest drone attack of the war so far by the UK Foreign Office.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday said there is "no doubt" that the war "must end at the negotiating table," but added that he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is genuinely interested in pursuing peace. 

"It is obvious that Russia is trying to buy time to continue the war and occupation," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app one day after US President Donald Trump spoke with Putin and said peace talks would begin "immediately." 

Zelenskyy has said he will not accept Russian demands that Ukrainian troops withdraw from territory occupied by Moscow's troops. 

"There must be clear and realistic proposals on the table. Ukraine is ready for any effective negotiation formats. And if Russia continues to put forward unrealistic conditions and undermine possible results, there must be tough consequences," Zelenskyy said.

The Ukrainian president also welcomed new EU sanctions and called for more international pressure on Russia. 

"We are working with partners to put pressure on the Russians to behave differently. Sanctions matter, and I am grateful to everyone who makes them more tangible for the perpetrators of the war."

As the EU formally adopts a 17th round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called for the United States to take "strong action" against Russia if ceasefire talks do not come to fruition. 

"America said that if Russia doesn't agree on an unconditional ceasefire, then there are going to be consequences. So, we want to see those consequences, also from the US side," Kallas said at a meeting of EU ministers in Brussels on Tuesday.

After speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday, US President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine would "immediately" start peace talks.

Meanwhile, the new raft of EU sanctions is targeting Russia's "shadow fleet" of ships that Moscow uses to circumvent restrictions on oil exports

Kallas added that another package of sanctions is also in the works.

"We continue on working on the next strong package of sanctions to put more pressure on Russia so that they would also want peace," Kallas said.

"There are sanctions regarding the oil price cap, energy, also banking sector — the sanctions that will hurt Russia's economy."

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Tuesday that he does not believe Russian President Vladimir Putin is "genuinely interested in peace." 

"He is still not ready for concessions, only talks about a ceasefire under his conditions," Pistorius said on the sidelines of a EU defense and foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. 

The German defense minister added that Putin is only "playing for time," in teasing openness towards talks on ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The frequency of attacks on Ukrainian cities say more than Putin's "lip service" towards peace talks, Pistorius said. 

The EU on Tuesday approved its 17th round of sanctions on Russia, the bloc's top diplomat Kaja Kallas announced at a meeting of foreign and defense ministers in Brussels. 

The new measures target the nearly 200 ships of Russia's so-called "shadow fleet."

These ships are used to help Russia evade oil sales restrictions, and are often dilapidated, uninsured, with unclear ownership. 

Kallas added that more Russia sanctions are "in the works." 

"The longer Russia wages war, the tougher our response," she added. 

Potential ceasefire talks between Ukraine and Russia are again in the spotlight after a two-hour phone call between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. 

After the call, Trump said Ukraine and Russia would "immediately" begin negotiations towards a ceasefire. 

Putin was more reserved, saying Moscow is "ready to work" with the Ukrainians on a "memorandum on a possible future peace agreement defining a range of positions."

Many details were left unclear by Putin, who added more "compromises" were still needed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke with Trump both before and after the Putin call, has said he is open to further talks with Moscow, but has rejected demands to withdraw troops from four regions partially occupied by Russia in the south and east of Ukraine.

"If Russia makes it a condition that our troops withdraw from our country, that means they do not want a ceasefire or an end to the war,"  Zelenskyy said on Monday.

Before taking office in January, Trump vowed to bring the war to a swift end by engaging directly with Putin, a goal which has proven elusive as the Russian leader has rejected previous proposals for a 30-day ceasefire.

In February, after talking with Putin, Trump had also said peace talks were to commence "immediately." Since then, Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukrainian cities. 

After initial US-Russia talks in February that left out Ukrainian and European negotiators, the Trump administration has shown more willingness to work multilaterally, even if it has indicated it would back out of brokering peace if a solution is not found quickly.