Just in from RFE/RL's News Desk:
European Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde-Hansen says the European Union will press ahead with implementing new sanctions against Russia on September 8 for its role in Ukraine’s conflict, despite a shaky Russian-proposed cease-fire there.
EU officials told RFE/RL the sanctions would be ratified automatically by a written procedure at 3 p.m. Brussels time if no EU member state objects, and that there have not been any indications of objections.
Ahrenkilde-Hansen said the sanctions would come into effect upon publication by the EU’s "Official Journal" on September 9 at the latest.
The sanctions were agreed by EU leaders on the sidelines of NATO’s summit in Wales on September 5.
The EU has said the sanctions could be suspended if Moscow honors the cease-fire conditions and pulls its troops out of Ukrainian territory.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry pledged an unspecified “reaction” if additional EU sanctions are implemented.
Dramatic photo taken on the outskirts of Mariupol as it was under shelling by pro-Russian separatists on September 4.
LATEST: Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, speaking in Mariupol, says that Ukraine will not give up its land to anybody and that he has ordered reinforced defense of the key southeastern city with tanks, rocket launchers, and aerial defense.
The deadline has just passed for objections, and none has been published, so it would appear the EU sanctions are on track to go into effect tomorrow.