EU to Ban Russian Soldiers as Kremlin Faces Painful Choice: Draft or Public Anger
The European Union has proposed banning all Russian soldiers who served during the Ukraine invasion from entering the bloc, while a military expert warns that President Vladimir Putin may soon be forced to choose between launching an unpopular new mobilization and losing the war.
The new EU sanctions package would deny entry to anyone who has served in Russia’s armed forces since the invasion began, targeting thousands of combatants [169101]. The proposal also aims to crack down on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of aging tankers used to evade oil price caps, as well as Russian banks and cryptocurrency transactions [169101].
Meanwhile, Russia is struggling to find new troops for its war effort. Military expert Johan Huovinen said the Kremlin may have to order a new mobilization before the end of the year [174080]. “It is very unpopular,” Huovinen said, explaining that finding soldiers is becoming increasingly difficult [174080]. This could force Putin to choose between continuing the war and keeping the support of the Russian people, as a draft would likely anger many citizens [174080].
In a separate development, Russia has banned a 17-year-old British teenager from entering the country for creating a public database that tracks cryptocurrency laundering [173860]. Alexander Browder’s open-source project logs how criminals move digital money worldwide, and the Kremlin imposed a travel ban in response [173860].