Poland calls for more sanctions against Russia

By Jo Harper

WARSAW, Poland (AA) – Poland on Tuesday called for more sanctions against Russia for blowing up a dam over the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka.

“In response to this act, it is necessary to impose further severe sanctions on the Russian Federation,” a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs read on Tuesday.

“[Poland] unconditionally condemns the blowing up of the dam. This is yet another outrageous act of Russian barbarity on Ukraine’s occupied territories, a grave violation of basic norms of humanitarian and environmental protection law, and an apparent war crime,” the statement said.

“This act poses a direct threat to the lives of civilians living along the Dnipro banks downstream from the dam and to the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, as well as bringing the prospect of an environmental disaster with unprecedented consequences on a regional scale, which will reverberate across Europe.”

The statement said Poland will hold Russia accountable and punish the perpetrators through international institutional and legal mechanisms.

A day after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, the EU imposed sanctions that targeted President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, consisting of Russian companies and several sectors of the Russian economy.