EU renews sanctions on Russia for another six months

The Council of the European Union has renewed economic sanctions against Russia for a further six months, until 31 July 2026, in response to its war against Ukraine, the institution said in a statement.

These sanctions include restrictions on trade, finance, energy, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods, among other sectoral punitive measures.

They also prohibit the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, exclude several Russian banks from the international SWIFT transfer system, and suspend broadcasting activities and EU licenses of several Kremlin-backed disinformation media outlets.

In addition, they include specific measures to combat the circumvention of these sanctions.

“As long as the illegal actions of the Russian Federation continue to violate fundamental norms of international law, including in particular the prohibition on the use of force, it is appropriate to keep all measures imposed by the EU in place and, if necessary, to adopt additional measures,” the EU Council said. The Council represents the bloc’s 27 member states.

The EU first imposed economic sanctions on Russia following the invasion of Crimea in 2014 and significantly expanded this regime after the launch of the full-scale military aggression against Ukraine in February 2022.

In addition to these economic measures, the EU applies other sanctions against individuals and entities, including travel bans to EU territory and the freezing of assets within the bloc, in connection with the war.