The European Union is finalizing its 11th round of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, aiming at foreign companies that help Russia circumvent sanctions. The new sanctions allegedly should hit for the first time Chinese companies due to their support of Moscow.
The new package was approved on Wednesday after Ukraine temporarily suspended the listing of five Greek shipping companies into the list of companies supporting the war. Greece and Hungary were holding the agreement for the last round of sanctions over this designation. Ukraine still kept Hungarian bank OTP Bank on the list.
At the moment the names of the companies targeted in the sanctions is not known. They will be unveiled once the new sanctions will be published in the EU official journal. Several diplomats told Euronews that three Chinese companies are included, the first time China has been entangled with Russian sanctions. Allegedly, at first the list included five companies, but after pressure from China and some member states they were reduced. Companies from the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan are also expected to be in the list.
The EU will implement a new mechanism that will restrict sale and trade of sensitive technology and products that could be converted for war use to countries that are not strict in blocking circumvention. The EU noted a rise in exports to Russia’s allies like Armenia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and suspects that from there materials under sanctions makes its way to Russia.
In addition to the new mechanism, the new sanctions will blacklist 77 people and 33 entities that were involved in illegal deportation of children to Russia.
