Euobserver.com

Finnish MPs have got the ball rolling on a week that's expected to culminate in a tectonic shift in Nordic security — Finland and Sweden's decision to apply for Nato membership.

To think that Russian companies could until Friday count on spare parts for armed aircrafts, or semiconductors, or oil products, from Europe, as their country was fuelling the most dangerous security crisis since World War Two, is beyond comprehension.

Ukraine is seeking more US and British anti-tank weapons as the EU moves closer to blocking Russia from the SWIFT financial messaging system.

As sanctions kick in against Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, experts predict an increase of cyberattacks on the EU.

EU states are - for the moment - showing solidarity with Ukraine and its refugees. But how long that will last depends on the duration of the conflict and the numbers in need.

This is how sanctions work: to be credible, those who put these measures in place must be willing to accept negative effects on both sides. To make a difference, EU countries will have to be ready to bear the costs.

While much of the infatuation with Russia among some Italians may be hard to explain, it's still a factor that its leaders, like prime minister Mario Draghi, must contend with.

Poland will ban Russian airlines from its airspace from midnight on Friday in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported. "I have ordered the preparation of a resolution of the council of ministers which will lead to the closure of the airspace over Poland to Russian airlines," Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Facebook. Russia, meanwhile, has banned British airlines from landing at Russia's airports, the BBC reported.

Europe should be throwing everything it has at Vladimir Putin, says former Ukrainian ambassador to the EU, Kostiantyn Yelisieiev, now in Kyiv.

Donald Tusk, the Polish president of the EU Council until 2019 and current chair of the European People's Party broke with normal diplomatic niceties to lambast Germany, Hungary and Italy as having "disgraced themselves."

A new proposal to hold EU businesses to account for human rights abuses and environmental gaps may have serious loopholes itself.

Russian banks and oil refineries to be hobbled by new EU sanctions, as civilian deaths mount in Ukraine. US wanted to exclude Russia from SWIFT, but Germany and France favoured incremental approach.

Weapons shipments may not be much of a quick fix for Ukraine in the face of an integrated and well equipped invasion force like Russia's.

Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees, warned that "humanitarian consequences on civilian populations will be devastating."

In the worst-case scenario gas suppliers wouldn't be able to rebuild their inventories over the summer, industries would have to shut down, and energy rationing may be inevitable.

Nato sending troops east to prevent Ukraine war spillover, but military "deconfliction channels" between West and Moscow remain open, secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said.

The Russian invasion may lead to the largest movement of individuals in Europe since the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. Introducing these Ukrainians into the workforce could help revamp EU economies.

Tragedies continue: a 26-year old man from Yemen has been found dead, apparently of hypothermia, in a swampy area near the Polish town of Tolipo.

The EU will block technology transfers to Russia, lock out its banks from Europe's markets, and seize Russian assets in reaction to its invasion of Ukraine - if leaders agree.

EU leaders immediately condemned the invasion, with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen calling on Russia to withdraw its forces and vowing further sanctions.