EU to impose first sanctions on Russia over disinformation, Bloomberg reports
Photo: additional restrictions are intended to be introduced against Belarus as well (Getty Images)
The European Union plans to introduce the first sanctions package against Russia for disinformation operations and other hybrid activities. The new measures are expected to be approved on Monday, reports Bloomberg.
As the publication reports, the proposed measures will target several employees and groups within Russian intelligence, as well as government officials and media entrepreneurs.
“The restrictions are part of a new sanctions regime approved earlier this year that focuses on disinformation operations and other Russian-sponsored destabilizing activities globally,” the report states.
The European bloc also proposes introducing additional sanctions against Belarus, targeting around two dozen individuals accused of human rights violations or those benefiting financially from their ties with the government of Belarus's self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenko.
EU foreign ministers plan to approve the sanctions package at meetings in Brussels on Monday, just ahead of Belarus’s presidential elections scheduled for next month.
These proposals come after the EU agreed on a 15th sanctions package against Russia in response to its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measures include restrictions on over 45 oil tankers involved in covertly transporting Russian crude oil and several Chinese companies accused of assisting Moscow in developing attack drones.
Bloomberg added that EU sanctions require unanimous support from all member states and may change.
Recall that in October, we reported that the EU Council approved a new sanctions regime against Russia’s destabilizing activities abroad. The restrictions were intended to enable the prosecution of individuals and organizations that undermine the security and sovereignty of the European Union.
