European Commission presents 21st sanctions package against Russia

“Brick by brick, we are collapsing the foundations of Russia’s war economy,” EU High Representative Kaja Kallas posted on X, presenting the European Commission proposals for a 21st sanctions package against Russia.

According to Kallas, the package includes a temporary freeze of the Russian oil price cap and designations of institutions used by Moscow to generate revenues and circumvent EU sanctions. It will target banks, weapons manufacturers, oil traders, refineries, and crypto operators in third countries.

The Commission proposes imposing asset freezes on close to 90 banks, and additional transaction bans on over 30 banks in Russia and other third countries. The EU will also tighten its ban for crypto-asset services to certain third countries, add new designations, and ban transactions on 11 crypto platforms.

“Energy sales keep Russia’s war machine running. We want to cut this cashflow,” Kallas said, suggesting a temporary freeze of the Russian oil price cap and new restrictions on the resale of LNG tankers to Russia.

“Our work on curbing the operations of Russia’s shadow fleet continues, with 30 new vessels sanctioned, proposals for new designations of enablers, and the expansion of our criterion for vessel listings. Any ship supplying or refuelling blacklisted ships will be exposed to sanctions itself,” Kallas said.

Two Russian ports and four airports will also face transaction bans. 

In the new package, the EU is also targeting companies providing support to the Russian military-industrial complex. The new listings will cover more than 30 designations in the drone manufacturing sector and new export control measures on 50 companies, including entities based in China, Türkiye, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, UAE, and India.

The EU will also restrict the export of additional materials and technologies, such as nickel powders, metal and high-performance alloys to further disrupt Russia’s production capacity.

The import of new items, including car parts, several precious-metals ores and chemicals will also be restricted.

Kallas also proposed to introduce a comprehensive visa ban for (ex-)combatants of the Russian armed forces and its proxy groups.

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Kaja Kallas post on X