The EU has agreed on the 13th sanctions package against Russia for its war in Ukraine. The European Union has imposed sanctions on enterprises based in mainland China.
Brussels is convinced that a number of Chinese companies are assisting Russia in circumventing sanctions and acquiring banned goods for weapons manufacturing.
Primarily, Russia purchases electronics for its war drones. The new EU’s restrictions have also hit companies in Turkey, North Korea, and other countries.
Belgian Presidency of the EU Council confirmed the agreement.
“EU Ambassadors just agreed in principle on a 13th package of sanctions in the framework of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This package is one of the broadest approved by the EU. It will undergo a written procedure and be formally approved for the 24 February.”
Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU 2024
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the adoption of the 13th package of sanctions against Russia.
“I welcome the agreement on our 13th sanctions package against Russia. We must keep degrading Putin’s war machine. With 2000 listings in total, we keep the pressure high on the Kremlin. We are also further cutting Russia’s access to drones.”
Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President
The list of two thousand names includes around 200 Russian individuals and organizations. Some of them are institutions involved in the Kremlin’s forced re-education of children abducted in Ukraine.
The package, however, does not target Russian aluminum manufacturers. In two years of war and 13 packages of sanctions, the EU didn’t significantly harm Russia’s metals exports.
The terms of the sanctions will become available after they are published in the EU’s official journal.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the EU, Vsevolod Chentsov, says that the 13th package of sanctions against Russia focuses only on companies and individuals that contribute to the military-industrial complex. The diplomat calls this package symbolic.
The ambassador said that EU member states and institutions worked within a tight timeframe to agree on the package before the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion.
According to the ambassador, the Ukrainian side conveyed its wishes regarding sanctions. However, the new package does not include sectoral sanctions.
At the same time, work on the 14th package of sanctions has already begun. Vsevolod Chentsov said this during a briefing.
According to him, Ukraine is constantly informing its partners about spare parts from third countries found on the battlefield. Chentsov said that Russia buys parts for weapons production not only from North Korea and Iran, but also from other countries.
When Bellingcat published its investigation into the digital connections between Viory and Ruptly, it presented…
A new investigation by Bellingcat has uncovered multiple digital connections between Viory, a self-described "Global…
Volodymyr Zhemchuhov was born 80 kilometres from the Russian border, speaks Russian as his mother…
The Czech-led initiative that has supplied Ukraine with more than four million large-calibre artillery shells…
The UK has announced a new package of sanctions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and illicit financial…
Latvia's foreign ministry has dismissed Moscow's threat to take the Baltic states to the International…