BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union on Saturday agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia, including on officials and organizations accused of supporting the war, spreading propaganda or supplying drones. In addition, it imposed restrictions on the trade of products that could be useful to the armed forces.
The Swedish EU presidency said the sanctions “target military and political decision-makers, companies that support or work within the Russian military industry and commanders of the Wagner Group. Transactions with the largest banks in Russia are also prohibited.
The assets of three Russian banks and seven Iranian “entities” – companies, agencies, political parties or other organizations – that manufacture military drones, which the EU suspects Russia used during the war, have been frozen.
The new measures, proposed by the EU executive three weeks ago, were approved after arduous internal discussions on their precise wording, and made public the day after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the date planned.
The minor but symbolically significant delay is further evidence of the difficulty for the 27-nation bloc to identify new targets for restrictive measures acceptable to all member countries.
The sanctions, aimed at undermining Russia’s economy and funding it for war, are causing hardship for European economies already plagued by high inflation and fuel prices, as well as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. .
The EU had already applied sanctions to nearly 1,400 Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, ministers, lawmakers and oligarchs deemed loyal to the Kremlin, as well as military officials found responsible for war crimes or attacks. against civilian infrastructure.
The bloc had also frozen the assets of more than 170 organizations, from political parties and paramilitary groups to banks, private companies and media outlets accused of spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda.
Russia’s energy sector – coal and oil in particular – has also been targeted by sanctions, and the EU, through its own actions and decisions combined with retaliation from Moscow, has lost its dependence on Russian natural gas.