The new package of sanctions, passed by the European Union on Saturday, targets 121 individuals and organizations, including seven Iranian drone manufacturers
New European Union (EU) sanctions related to the war in Ukraine were approved by the Twenty-Seven on Friday night and formally adopted on Saturday, said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell. These target 121 individuals and entities, including 96 other Russian entities (corporate or government) as well as three Russian banks and seven Iranian entities — all makers of explosive drones used by Moscow to attack Ukrainian infrastructure or homes — who EU said in a statement.
With this tenth wave of European sanctions for one year, the ban on exports of industrial goods from the EU to Russia will also be extended to dual-use goods such as electronics, special vehicles, mechanical parts, spare parts for trucks and aircraft engines, antennas, cranes, drones, rare earths, electronic circuits and thermal imaging cameras. Trade in these goods is worth more than 11 billion euros, according to European officials.
Sanctions against Russian propaganda are also being tightened, including measures to suspend the licenses of the Arabic offices of Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik, state-controlled media outlets already banned in Europe. The new sanctions package also obliges EU member states to detail the assets seized and sanctioned from wealthy Russians who support the Kremlin, as well as the assets frozen by the Central Bank of Russia.
According to Borrell, the latest package of sanctions also targets “those responsible for the deportation and forced adoption of at least 6,000 Ukrainian children” in violation of international law. “We will continue to increase pressure on Russia and continue to do so for as long as necessary until Ukraine is liberated from brutal Russian aggression,” he added. This is the tenth series of sanctions passed by the EU since Russia began invading Ukraine, mirroring measures announced by the United States and Britain on Friday, which followed a stern warning from the G7 to countries supporting Russia in the war .
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, welcomed the event in a tweet that all measures successively adopted by the EU “represent the most severe sanctions ever, depleting Russia’s war arsenal and biting deep into its economy”. “We are also increasing the pressure on those trying to circumvent our sanctions,” she said.