Russia to be hit with new sanctions as Zelenskyy demands penalties ‘commensurate to war crimes’

Russia will be hit with new sanctions worth billions of pounds, after Ukraine’s president urged Western leaders to punish Moscow over alleged war crimes.

The US is set to unveil a new package of sanctions later today, including a ban on new investment in Russia and tougher measures against Moscow’s financial institutions and state-owned enterprises.

Meanwhile, EU leaders will meet to approve plans to ban the purchase of Russian coal and stop Russian ships from entering European ports.

The measures come after international condemnation over the treatment of Ukrainians in the town of Bucha, where more than 300 bodies have been discovered, including some with their hands tied behind their backs.

Key developments:

• Ukraine’s president to address Irish parliament later today
• NATO foreign ministers to discuss further support for Ukraine
• France’s president agrees to give technical support for investigation into alleged war crimes

Hours after telling the UN Security Council on Tuesday that Russia wants to turn Ukrainians into “silent slaves”, Ukraine’s president warned Western leaders that they faced a “crucial moment”.

In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said new sanctions imposed on Russia “must be commensurate with the gravity of the occupiers’ war crimes” and that citizens across Europe and the West wanted strong action from their leaders.

“We are preparing a new package of powerful sanctions against Russia for everything it has done to our people,” he said.

“Now is a crucial moment, especially for Western leaders. And this is no longer about how our people will evaluate the new sanctions and what I will say about them.

“This is about how decisions on sanctions will be assessed in Western societies themselves. After what the world saw in Bucha, sanctions against Russia must be commensurate with the gravity of the occupiers’ war crimes.

“If after that Russian banks will still be able to function as usual… If after that the transit of goods to Russia will continue as usual… If after that the EU countries will pay for Russian energy resources as usual… Then the political fate of some leaders will develop not as usual.

“My advice to everyone: feel now that the moment is really crucial.”

EU leaders are meeting in Brussels this morning to discuss new sanctions, which require the approval of the bloc’s 27 member states.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says an import ban on Russian coal would cost Moscow €4bn a year (£3.3bn), while other planned import bans would be worth €5.5bn (£4.5bn).

The EU also plans to place a transaction ban on four Russian banks, including VTB, and sanction more Russian oligarchs.

EU leaders also want to prevent the export of semiconductors, machinery and transport equipment worth €10bn (£8.3bn).

Ukraine has previously called for bans on the import of Russian oil – something which Ms von der Leyen says the EU is working on.

Earlier on Tuesday, Germany’s foreign minister said the EU’s member states had agreed in principle to completely end fossil fuel imports from Russia, without giving dates as to when that would happen.

As well as hitting the Russian state, new US sanctions will put further pressure on government officials and their family members, said White House press secretary Jen Psaki.

“The goal is to force them to make a choice,” she said. “The biggest part of our objective here is to deplete the resources that Putin has to continue his war against Ukraine.”

The Biden administration also approved the transfer of $100m worth of Javelin anti-armour missiles to Ukraine to meet an “urgent need”.