Your Evening Briefing: G7 Mulls Ban on Exports to Russia
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Rescuers work at a site of a partially destroyed residential building after shelling in Sloviansk, Ukraine, on April 14. Russia has repeatedly targeted residential areas in the eastern city and all across the nation during its 14-month long war, killing untold thousands of civilians.
Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP
After more than a year of war and waves of sanctions by countries all over the world, Vladimir Putin continues to mercilessly pound Ukraine in his so-far failed attempt at conquest. Now, some of Ukraine’s key allies are considering moving closer to an outright ban on most exports to Russia, a potentially significant tightening of economic pressure. Group of Seven officials are said to be discussing the idea ahead of a summit in May, with the aim to include European Union member states in the crackdown. The approach would flip the existing sanctions regime around, with all exports banned unless exempted.
As NATO expands northward with the accession of Finland, and perhaps later Sweden, Ukraine’s own bid to join the military alliance—considered to be among the reasons Putin attacked—continues to languish. While Ukraine’s eastern NATO allies are pushing to at least give the country a concrete roadmap toward membership, the alliance is unlikely to issue any specifics or timeline when the leaders gather in Vilnius this summer. But on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made a surprise visit to Kyiv, his first since the start of Russia’s invasion in February 2022. Ukraine’s “rightful place” is in NATO, he said, adding that “over time, our support will help to make this possible.”