Ukraine crisis: Japan and Australia slap sanctions on Russia, NZ summons Russian ambassador

Name: Sporadic shelling near Luhansk power station as Russian forces enter Ukraine separatist region
Uploaded: 2022-02-23T04:29:36.000Z
Duration: 1 min 55 s
Description: Sporadic shelling near Luhansk power station as Russian forces enter Ukraine separatist region

The measures follow decisions by the US, UK and EU to penalise Russian entities in the wake of Putin’s move to send soldiers into Donetsk and Lugansk

Australia targeted financial sanctions and travel bans in a first batch of measures, while New Zealand summoned Russia’s envoy to express its condemnation

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An activist wrapped in Ukrainian flag shout slogans during a rally outside Russian embassy in Kyiv. Photo: AFP

Agencies

Published: 12:29pm, 23 Feb 2022Updated: 1:32pm, 9 Mar 2022

Japan will impose sanctions on Russia and individuals linked to Ukrainian regions controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists, while Australia did the same and warned businesses to prepare for retaliation through Russian cyberattacks.

The measures follow decisions by the United States, Britain and the European Union to penalise Russian entities in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send soldiers into Donetsk and Lugansk.

“We’ve cut off Russia’s government from Western finance,” Biden said after announcing financial sanctions on banks and Russian officials close to Putin and their sons. “It can no longer raise money from the West and cannot trade in its new debt on our markets or European markets either.”

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Sporadic shelling near Luhansk power station as Russian forces enter Ukraine separatist region

Tokyo’s sanctions include a ban on issuing visas to individuals linked to the “so-called two republics”, as well as freezing their assets and barring trade with the regions in east Ukraine. They also ban the issuing and trade of Russian government bonds in Japan.

“We continue to monitor with grave concern,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told reporters. “From the viewpoint of responding to the issue in cooperation with the international community, Japan decided to impose sanctions.”

Japan “strongly condemns” Russia’s actions, he added, “that infringe on Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, violating international law”, adding that further sanctions were possible “if the situation worsens”.

People evacuated from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on February 22, 2022. Photo: AP

In Canberra, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday said that targeted financial sanctions and travel bans would be a first batch of measures in response to Russian aggression toward Ukraine.