Ukraine conflict: Russia faces more sanctions, warns G7

BBC NEWS

G7 leaders say Russia will face further economic sanctions if it continues to support rebels in Ukraine.

In a statement on Wednesday, the group said Russia had undermined "Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence."

The warning came after the EU added eight more Russians to its sanctions.

Earlier, Russia described new US and EU sanctions as "destructive and short-sighted", and said they would lead to higher energy prices in Europe.

The G7 group of economic powers includes the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain.

Its leaders said Russia could still "choose the path of de-escalation," but warned President Putin that he would face greater economic costs if he continued to back Ukrainian separatists.

They also called on all sides to establish a ceasefire at the crash site of the Malaysian Airlines jet that was shot down on 17 July in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has come under increased pressure to end its support for the rebels, who Western governments believe were behind the downing of MH17, killing all 298 people on board.

Mr Putin has also been accused by the US and EU of supplying heavy weapons to the rebels - a charge his government has denied.

On Tuesday, the US announced new economic sanctions against Russia, widening their scope to include three key sectors of the economy - energy, arms and finance.

The EU is also expanding its sanctions, targeting the oil sector, defence equipment and sensitive technologies.

Details of new EU sanctions are due to be published on Thursday.

Russia's foreign ministry said the US sanctions would aggravate relations between the two countries, and attacked new EU restrictions as "thoughtless and irresponsible".

Russian press reacts to sanctions

• "The Russian authorities have been responding chaotically to emerging threats by taking instant ad hoc measures, but failing to calculate their systemic consequences" - Nezavisimaya Gazeta
• "Sources in Russian diplomatic circles say the Russian leadership hopes that the sectoral sanctions will be considerably less stringent when approved at the top level" - Kommersant
• "It is possible to say now that the Russian authorities mistakenly believed that Europeans would not risk introducing sectoral sanctions for fear that they might backfire" - Novyye Izvestiya
• "Russia is different not only because its economy is much more integrated into the world one. Russia is a nuclear power and a member of the World Trade Organization, which limits the possibility of pressure" - Vedomosti