New European Union sanctions against Moscow come into force next week as part of its response to the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Currently excluded from US-led talks to end the war, the EU has repeatedly imposed sanctions going back to when President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops into Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Some 2,300-plus officials and entities, mostly Russian government agencies, banks and organisations, have been affected.
Diplomats and officials in Brussels say that the latest sanctions package, the 16th of its kind, includes travel bans, asset freezes and trade restrictions. Once the measures have been endorsed by EU foreign ministers on Monday, the new round of sanctions will enter into force. Targets include Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet”, adding 70 vessels to the 50 currently listed for evading restrictions on the shipping of oil and gas, and/or hauling stolen Ukrainian grain.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has welcomed the measures and looks forward to their being approved. “The EU is clamping down even harder on circumvention by targeting more vessels
in Putin’s shadow fleet and imposing new import and export bans. We are committed to keep up the pressure on the Kremlin,” she said in a social media post.
Fifty Russian officials have been added to a list that already includes Putin and several of his associates. According to diplomats who prefer to remain nameless pending final approval of the sanctions, 13 Russian banks and three financial institutions have also been added. Eleven Russian ports and airports that the EU considers Moscow is using to bypass the oil price cap and previous sanctions are among the targets for the proposed new measures, which also aim to impose trade bans on some chemicals and aluminium.
