The easing of EU sanctions on Russian metal will provide Putin with €1.5B for weapons.

Despite numerous sanctions, the Russian economy is developing and growing (2.2% last year), and the country continues earning billions in the European market.

Therefore, said Aaron Pluto, a strategic consultant to high-ranking military officials and diplomats, Europe should finally ban all metal products from Russia. After all, the absence of such sanctions continues to allow the aggressor state to reap billions in profits. These funds contribute to the acquisition of drones, missiles, and other weapons aimed at the Ukrainian civilian population. In particular, Russian steel slabs and pig iron continue to arrive in Europe. And the 12th package of sanctions, which prohibits these imports, provides for a grace period.

“This permission to import Russian slab over the next four years will allow Russian metallurgists to earn more than €6B. Therefore, Moscow will receive €1.5B in profit from those sales directly “in Putin’s wallet,” allowing months to finance the purchase of weapons because the EU’s 12-sanction package extended the quotas for Russian slab for another four years”.