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EU Adopts 19th Sanctions Package on Russia as Anti-Drone Defence Plan Advances

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Von der Leyen and Kallas to give formal announcement this afternoon; MI6 chief warns Putin is “deceiving the world”.

The European Commission has approved its nineteenth package of sanctions package on Russia, the Commission’s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho told reporters at the daily press briefing. Pinho said the official announcement will be made this afternoon by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, with the event streamed live on the European Broadcasting Service. Details of the exact timing will be provided later, and no technical briefing is scheduled.

Sanctions Package on Russia – €150 Billion SAFE Instrument for “Anti-Drone Wall”

Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier explained that the EU’s €150 billion SAFE funding tool could help finance a proposed “anti-drone wall” if member states include essential components in their national plans to be submitted to Brussels by 30 November. “Ukraine is fully associated with SAFE by default, so such a wall would naturally protect Ukraine, the EU and some NATO members,” Regnier said.

The reference is to the concrete steps following von der Leyen’s recent State of the Union address, echoed by Defence Commissioner Andrius Kubilius in international media. Regnier pointed to recent Russian drone incursions into Poland and Romania as proof of the need for stronger EU defences. The project envisages a sophisticated network of monitoring and anti-drone systems along parts of the EU’s and NATO’s eastern flank. “Work is under way,” he added, noting that von der Leyen and Kubilius have already visited frontline member states to gauge interest and that further consultations are planned.

MI6 Chief: “Putin Is Lying to the World”

Outgoing MI6 director Richard Moore said there is “no evidence” that Russian president Vladimir Putin is prepared to negotiate peace in Ukraine. “Putin is deceiving us with promises of peace,” Moore warned. “He wants to impose his imperial diktat by every means at his disposal. But he has bitten off more than he can chew. He and many others underestimated the Ukrainians.”

Moore accused the Kremlin leader of trying to convince the world that a Russian victory is inevitable: “He is lying—to the world, to his own people, perhaps even to himself. He is mortgaging his country’s future for his personal legacy and a distorted version of history. This war is accelerating Russia’s decline.”

Diplomatic Contacts in New York

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet next week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, according to Russia’s TASS agency, citing Moscow’s UN representative Vassili Nebenzia. The two are expected to discuss “a broad range of bilateral and multilateral issues”.

On the humanitarian front, Rustem Umerov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security Council, confirmed in an interview with CNN that Moscow and Kyiv are currently engaged only in talks on issues such as prisoner exchanges. “At this stage we are waiting for bilateral and trilateral meetings,” Umerov added, referring to potential summits involving Volodymyr Zelensky, Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump.

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