EU sanctions on Russia not working: Polish PM

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Polish Prime Minister Mateusz said on Saturday that EU sanctions against Russia were not working, according to the Polish chancellery, as he continued to press Brussels to take a tough stance against Moscow.

Morawiecki stated that "the sanctions we have imposed on Russia so far are not working. The proof is the ruble exchange rate, which is returning to the level it was at before the Russian aggression against Ukraine."

"This means that our actions did not work as expected by the leaders," Morawiecki added during a visit to the Polish town of Otwock in the East of the country, which houses Ukrainian refugees.

'A Barrage of sanctions'

The US and its western allies have imposed strict and harsh sanctions on Russia following its military operation in Ukraine.

Sanctions have included restrictions on the Russian central bank, export control measures, SWIFT cutoff for select banks, and closure of airspace to all Russian flights. Many of their companies have suspended their Russian operations.

Over 1,000 Russian individuals and businesses have so far been sanctioned by the US, UK, and the EU.

In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, on March 31, that "unfriendly" countries, including all EU members, will be required to open ruble accounts in order to pay for gas deliveries beginning in April.

The USD exchange rate declined in favor of the Russian ruble as a result of such measures, trading at 85.75 rubles during today's trading on Moscow Exchange after experiencing initial depreciation against the US dollar.

The crisis in question is due to Russia launching a special military operation for several reasons, including NATO's eastward expansion. Other reasons were the Ukrainian shelling of Donbass and the killing of the people of the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic, in addition to Moscow wanting to "denazify" and demilitarize Ukraine.