The US unveiled sanctions targeting Russian banks and elites, and including a ban on any American from investing in Russia, as well as sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s adult daughters.
The UK also announced fresh sanctions, including collaborating with the US on asset freezes against Russian banks and banning all new outward investment to Russia.
In the morning, the EU also announced a wide-ranging package of sanctions, including import bans on coal and transaction bans on banks.
Hungary’s Viktor Orbán gave a press conference in which he said he had offered to broker talks with Putin aimed at leading towards a ceasefire, while stopping short of agreeing to extend EU sanctions against Russia’s oil and gas shipments.
Russia’s military has now shifted its focus to the east of Ukraine, with authorities in Luhansk and Donetsk warning that civilians should leave as quickly as possible. There were reports of burning buildings in Luhansk after Russian shelling, with casualties unknown, while five were killed in Donetsk, according to the governor. Ukrainian railways reported rocket fire on a railway station in the east of the country, which resulted in casualties, though gave no further detail on the location or number of victims.
Kyiv reported 89 deaths since the start of the conflict.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian president, gave an impassioned speech to Ireland’s parliament, in which he urged the country to pile extra pressure on EU nations to introduce tougher sanctions, accusing European countries of worrying excessively about the economic consequences.
Western officials said Russia’s retreat from around Kyiv and the north-east of the country was now “largely complete” and that it would take “at least a week” before reconstituted units could move to Donbas.
