European Union announces tenth round of sanctions on Russia

Europe, News February 25, 2023 , by IRIA No Comments

The European Union has been putting sanctions on Russian individuals and companies since the start of Ukraine’s invasion. The latest round of sanctions was approved on February 24, 2023, and has been designed to target war financing.

EU announced its tenth package of sanctions against Russia on the one-year anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The latest round of sanctions increases the trade restriction on Russian companies, especially for those working in the defense technology sector. Through these restrictions, the EU plans to restrict the Russian military’s access to international technology equipment and spare parts.

The latest round of sanctions was announced by Swedish EU Council Presidency in Brussels. According to EU officials, the package includes tighter export restrictions regarding dual-use goods as well as measures against entities supporting Russia’s war, including spreading propaganda in support of the invasion and delivering drones used by the Russian forces against Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.

“Together, the EU member states have imposed the most forceful and far-reaching sanctions ever to help Ukraine win the war,” the EU presidency announced on Twitter. “The EU stands united with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We will keep supporting Ukraine, for as long as it takes,” it said.

Apart from several companies, the latest round of sanctions is also meant to blacklist more individuals from entering the EU or conducting business with EU countries. These individuals have been described as Russian propagandists. Most of these individuals are the ones who hold Kyiv responsible for the war and spreading the news about Kyiv’s deporting Ukrainian children to Russia. The list also includes the names of those involved in the production of Iranian drones that have been deployed on the frontlines of war by the Russian forces.

*^{Russian security personnel in front of Alfa-Bank branch in Zemlyanoy Val Street, Moscow, Russia. (Image Credit: Alexander Shcherbak/TASS)}*

The package was also designed to cut off more Russian banks, including the private Alfa-Bank and the online bank Tinkoff, from the global SWIFT system and cut trade between the EU and Russia by more than $10 billion.

Negotiations on the terms of sanctions became stuck at a point when Poland opposed some terms of the agreement that was set b approved unanimously by 27 European Union states.

Warsaw said that the proposed restrictions on EU imports of Russian rubber have an impractical quota of import exemption with long transition periods that would have no effect in practice. EU countries were baffled by Warsaw’s opposition as it risked a delay in the announcement of the sanction package on the one-year anniversary of Russia’s attack against Ukraine. However, after hours of consultations and negotiations, a consensus war was achieved for the sanction package to be announced on time.