00:02The European Union has passed the 21st package of sanctions against Russia following chaotic
00:08negotiations. After an earlier veto had initially delayed the deal, Greece finally secured an
00:14exemption to continue shipping Russian LNG to non-EU clients. The deal, reached on Thursday
00:20morning by ambassadors, freezes the cap at $44 per barrel of Russian oil for 12 months.
00:26We have succeeded in getting 20 sanctions packages over the line. Those sanctions packages are doing
00:31what they're supposed to do. They're hitting the Russian war economy where it hurts, and thereby,
00:35in an overall sense, supporting our efforts to help Ukraine. Additionally, the package blacklists
00:42more vessels from the Shadow Fleet. It also targets Russian banks, crypto and oil trading platforms,
00:49various metals found on the battlefield, as well as over 250 individuals and companies
00:55accused of supporting the invasion of Ukraine, spreading pro-war propaganda, and enabling
01:01circumvention. The agreement is considerably watered down and raises serious questions about the
01:07influence of national economic interests in the campaign to cripple Moscow's ability to finance
01:12the invasion of Ukraine. An attempt to restrict imports of Russian fisheries was abandoned after
01:18Portugal and Germany voiced reservations, while Bulgaria succeeded in removing from the list
01:23Patriarch Kirill, the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, and Vagitalik Perov, the billionaire founder of Lukoil.
01:29Hello, everybody.
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