The EU Council declared on January 29th the extension of economic sanctions against Russia, imposed due to its aggression against Ukraine, until July 31st.
The Council’s press service stated that it significantly expanded these sanctions, initially imposed in 2014 in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, since February 2022 in response to Russia’s unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal military aggression against Ukraine.
The EU initially imposed its initial set of sanction related to Russian aggression on July 31, 2014, after Moscow occupied Crimea and initiated conflict in the Donbas. The EU has notably expanded its measures after the full-scale invasion, adopting 12 significant measures since Feb. 24, 2022.
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The EU endorsed its latest sanctions in December 2023, with the 13th set reportedly already in development and expected to be unveiled in February.
Measures against Moscow include various economic sectors, such as limitations on trade, finance, technology, dual-use goods, industry, transport, and luxury items.
These also involve a prohibition on Russian seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products, severing Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system, and halting Russian propaganda and disinformation channels within the bloc.
Brussels also aimed to curtail Russia’s capacity to evade existing measures through third-party nations.