On Monday, June 30, the European Union extended its economic restrictive measures against Russia for an additional six months in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The decision was published on the official website of the European Council, as reported by Ukrinform.
“The Council today renewed the EU restrictive measures in view of the Russian Federation’s continuing actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine for a further 6 months, until 31 January 2026. These economic measures, first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded since February 2022 in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified and illegal military aggression against Ukraine,” the document reads.
As noted, the sanctions consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods. They also cover: a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, a de-SWIFTing of several Russian banks and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licenses in the European Union of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets.
Moreover, specific measures enable the EU to counter sanctions circumvention.
“As long as the illegal actions by the Russian Federation continue to violate fundamental rules of international law, including, in particular, the prohibition on the use of force, it is appropriate to maintain in force all the measures imposed by the EU and to take additional measures, if necessary,” the document reads.
As noted, since 24 February 2022, the EU has adopted 17unprecedented and hard-hitting packages of sanctions in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Commenting on the decision, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas emphasized that the European Union will maintain pressure on Russia until it ends its war of aggression against Ukraine.
“The EU today officially agreed to extend sectoral sanctions on Russia. We will continue to pile pressure on Moscow to end its war in Ukraine. Each sanction weakens Russia’s ability to wage war,” she stressed.
As reported by Ukrinform, on May 20, EU foreign ministers adopted the 17th package of sanctions against Russia, specifically targeting nearly 200 “shadow fleet” ships.
Source: EU extends economic restrictive measures against Russia for six more months
