In a statement on the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the EU announced its 16th package of sanctions against Russia. The Presidents of the European Commission, EU Council and the European Parliament made this statement.
The leaders of the EU institutions recalled that Russia and its leadership bear full responsibility for the war and atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people.
“Russia and its leadership bear sole responsibility for this war and the atrocities committed against the Ukrainian population. We continue to call for accountability for all war crimes and crimes against humanity committed. We welcome the recent steps made towards the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine,” the statement reads.
Increasing pressure on Russia to limit its ability to wage war
The EU leaders also emphasized that, together with its partners, the EU has imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and those involved in the war and remains ready to increase pressure on Russia to limit its ability to wage war.
“Today, we have adopted a sixteenth sanctions package to further increase collective pressure on Russia to end its war of aggression,” the statement said.
The European Union and its partners, as noted, acted quickly and in unity to support Ukraine. The European Union has provided Ukraine with economic, humanitarian, financial, and military assistance totaling 135 billion euros, of which 48.7 billion euros is military aid.
“The European Union will continue to provide Ukraine with regular and predictable financial support, including for the country’s post-war reconstruction,” the presidents of the EU institutions emphasized.
“In parallel, we have taken unprecedented actions at the EU level to ramp up European defence industry production, and we will continue to increase our capacity. This will allow us to step up our military support and cooperation with Ukraine while simultaneously strengthening our defence readiness and European sovereignty,” they added.
The statement also emphasized that Ukraine is part of our European family and has already made significant progress in reforms related to EU accession under the most difficult circumstances.
“We are already integrating Ukraine into the EU’s internal market. The future of Ukraine and its citizens lies in the European Union,” the presidents of EU institutions said.
“In a challenging international and geopolitical environment, we stress the importance of maintaining transatlantic and global solidarity with Ukraine. We highlight the need to ensure the international community’s continued focus on supporting Ukraine in achieving a comprehensive, just, and lasting peace based on the Ukrainian peace formula,” they reiterated.
Sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet, banks and war-linked firms
The new package of EU sanctions against Russia impacts vital sectors of the Russian economy, further weakening Putin’s regime’s ability to wage an illegal, unprovoked, and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine.
In particular, the EU Council agreed on an 83-name package consisting of 48 individuals and 35 organizations responsible for actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine.
In addition, the EU Council established two new criteria that will allow the EU to impose restrictive measures on individuals and entities that own or operate vessels of Putin’s shadow fleet, as well as those who support or benefit from the Russian military-industrial complex.
“This new round of sanctions targets not only Russia’s shadow fleet, but also those who support the operation of dangerous oil tankers, banks that circumvent our sanctions, and propaganda media that spread lies,” said EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.
New vessels have been added to the list of so-called shadow fleet vessels subject to a ban on access to ports and a ban on providing a wide range of maritime-related services. 74 vessels originating from third countries have now been sanctioned, bringing the total number of vessels subject to sanctions to 153.
The EU has also, for the first time, imposed a ban on transactions with credit or financial institutions established outside Russia that use the Financial Messaging System (FMS) of the Central Bank of Russia. The SFT is a specialized financial messaging service developed by the Central Bank of Russia to neutralize the effect of restrictive measures.
In addition, the EU Council decided to extend the ban on specialized financial messaging services to 13 regional banks that are considered important for the Russian financial and banking systems.
The EU Council also added 53 new companies to the list of those directly supporting Russia’s military-industrial complex in its war against Ukraine. One third of these companies are Russian, while the rest are located in third countries, including China.
EU extends the list of goods banned from export to Russia
The EU has also extended the list of goods banned from export to Russia, as they help the Russian defense and security sector improve its technology. These include goods that are used to develop and make Russian military systems, such as chemicals that are used to make chlorine and other riot control agents, software for computer numerical control machines, chromium compounds, and controllers for unmanned aerial vehicles.
The EU has also imposed further restrictions on the export of goods that contribute to the strengthening of Russia’s industrial potential (chemicals, certain types of plastics, and rubber) and their transit through Russia, as well as further restrictions on the import of primary aluminum, which brings Russia significant revenues.
More sanctions against Russia’s propaganda media outlets
In addition, the EU Council decided to suspend the broadcasting licenses of eight Russian media outlets that are under the constant control of the Russian leadership and prohibit them from broadcasting their content in the EU. Among them: EADaily/Eurasia Daily, Fondsk, Lenta, NewsFront, RuBaltic, SouthFront, Strategic Culture Foundation, and Krasnaya Zvezda/TV Zvezda.
The EU has also banned doing business with certain Russian ports, gateways, and airports that are used to send UAVs, missiles, and related technologies and parts to Russia, or for ships that are involved in illegal and dangerous shipping to get around oil price caps or other restrictions.
The package of measures agreed today imposes further restrictions on the export of goods and technology, in particular software related to oil and gas exploration, to further limit Russia’s oil and gas exploration and production capacity.
The EU Council also prohibits the provision of services for the temporary storage of Russian oil and oil products in the EU, regardless of the purchase price of oil and the final destination of these products.
