The European Council has approved its 16th package of sanctions against Russia in response to Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement on the Council’s website.
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The new measures target 48 individuals and 35 entities accused of “undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”
The E.U. also imposed restrictions on 74 vessels that it classifies as part of Russia’s shadow fleet.
Additionally, 13 Russian banks will be disconnected from the SWIFT international banking system, though their names were not disclosed. For the first time, the E.U. has also banned financial transactions involving credit and financial institutions outside Russia that use the Russian Central Bank’s System for Transfer of Financial Messages (SPFS).
The sanctions extend to eight Russian media outlets, including Lenta.ru and Zvezda TV, which will lose their broadcasting licenses in the E.U. The Council said these outlets had “been essential and instrumental in bringing forward and supporting Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and for the destabilization of its neighboring countries and of the E.U.”
The package also expands restrictions on exports of goods that support the development of Russia’s defense industry.
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Better late than never, but it is almost funny that Lenta.ru and especially Zvezda TV just got sanctioned. I will add that Lenta.ru was somewhat sane before 2014, but the editors got kicked out and were replaced by genocidal imperialists.
It would have been far more effective to immediately sanction all russian and russian-adjacent companies and then whitelist the ones that can prove beyond reasonable doubt that their business is not involved with the military.
I assume they did it in tranches to allow ramping up or down. However, it seems like they are lagging in the ramp up.
UK announces largest sanctions package against Russia since 2022
The sanctions will also target Russia’s military machine, entities in third countries who support it and the fragile supply networks that it relies on.
Targets include:
- producers and suppliers of machine tools, electronics and dual-use goods for Russia’s military, including microprocessors used in weapons systems. These are based in a range of third countries including Central Asian states, Turkey, Thailand, India and China, which is the largest supplier of critical goods for Russia’s military
- North Korean Defence Minister No Kwang Chol and other North Korean generals and senior officials complicit in deploying over 11,000 DPRK forces to Russia. Putin is using DPRK forces as cannon fodder; DPRK has suffered over 4,000 casualties
- 13 Russian targets, including LLC Grant-Trade, its owner Marat Mustafaev and his sister Dinara Mustafaeva, who have used the company to funnel advanced European technology into Russia to support its illegal war
