German defence minister calls for clampdown on Russia's war financing
German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday urged further action to cut off Russia's financial lifelines, following the European Union's adoption of its latest sanctions package against Moscow.
The goal must be to curb "the still considerable flow of money into Russia's state coffers, which helps finance the war in the first place," Pistorius told Deutschlandfunk radio.
Only by doing so, he argued, can the West effectively worsen Russia's ability to sustain its war in Ukraine, pointing to revenues from Russian oil and gas exports.
He also stressed the need to boost Ukraine's rearmament efforts, saying the country has available production capacity in its arms industry but lacks sufficient funding to fully utilize it.
"We will step in together and fill these capacity gaps," Pistorius said.
The minister expressed scepticism over the latest diplomatic overtures involving US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders spoke by phone on Monday following a series of meetings by their advisers.
"Nothing is really happening," he said. "It's all new places, new timelines - and it just means Vladimir Putin can continue his attacks on Ukraine. But there is no peace in sight."
On Tuesday, EU member states approved a 17th round of sanctions against Russia. The new measures include tighter controls on the so-called Russian "shadow fleet" used to transport oil and oil products. The ships help Moscow evade Western oil-price caps.
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