Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Thursday for more punitive measures against Russia by the European Union and said he had discussed a new EU sanctions package with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Zelenskyy, speaking at a joint news conference in Kyiv with von der Leyen, said the speed of the EU sanctions campaign against Russia had “slightly slowed down” and should be stepped up.
Ukraine is reeling from the most recent wave of Russian drone and missile strikes Thursday that killed at least 11 people and triggered emergency power outages in 10 regions of the country.
Zelenskyy called for more sanctions on Russia in his nightly video address, and for a tribunal to address Russian war crimes.
The attacks came a day after Ukraine’s Western allies pledged to send the country battle tanks, opening up a new front in the types of weapons they are willing to provide in the fight against Russian forces.
Seven vessels carrying 368,941 metric tons of grain and other crops have left Ukrainian ports, the organization overseeing the export of agricultural products said.
Two ships are destined for Israel and are carrying wheat and corn. Another vessel is headed to China with corn. The other ships are headed for Spain, Italy, Kenya and Saudi Arabia.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal brokered in July among Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw three key Ukrainian ports reopen.
So far, more than 680 ships have sailed from Ukrainian ports.
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