EU extends sanctions against Russia for another six months
Illustrative photo (Getty Images)
The EU Council has extended the EU's restrictive measures in connection with the actions of the Russian Federation in Ukraine for another 6 months, until January 31, 2025.
"These sanctions, first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded since February 2022 in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and illegal military aggression against Ukraine," the statement said.
Currently, they consist of a wide range of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transportation and luxury goods.
They also include: a ban on the import or transfer of marine crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, the disconnection of several Russian banks from SWIFT, and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licenses in the European Union of several Kremlin-backed disinformation agencies. In addition, specific measures allow the EU to counteract the circumvention of sanctions.
"As long as the illegal actions by the Russian Federation continue to violate the prohibition on the use of force, which is a serious breach of obligations under international law, it is appropriate to maintain in force all the measures imposed by the EU and to take additional measures, if necessary," the EU Council wrote.
EU sanctions
Since March 2014, the EU has been gradually introducing restrictive measures (sanctions) against Russia, initially in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and the deliberate destabilization of Ukraine.
In addition, on February 23, 2022, the EU expanded sanctions in response to the recognition of the non-government controlled territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine and the deployment of Russian armed forces in these areas.
After February 24, 2022, in response to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, the EU significantly expanded sanctions. It added a significant number of individuals and entities to the sanctions list and took unprecedented measures to weaken Russia's economic base, deprive it of critical technologies and markets, and severely limit its ability to wage war.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the EU has already imposed 14 sanctions packages against Russia.
