EU Slams Brakes on Russian Shadow Fleet with Sweeping Sanctions Package
The European Union has approved its 21st package of sanctions against Russia, expanding restrictions on the country's energy, financial, and military sectors. The measures, adopted by the Council of the European Union on Friday, represent one of the bloc's broadest sanctions packages since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The package includes 218 new listings covering 48 individuals and 170 entities, with the highest number of listings in four years, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. 'We're hitting over a hundred banks and crypto operators, 40+ vessels in Russia's shadow fleet, and several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus,' she said.
The maritime measures target Russia's so-called shadow fleet of aging tankers used to transport oil outside Western sanctions. The package expands existing rules to cover vessels that support the fleet by providing bunkering and other services, while adding 41 more ships to the sanctions list, bringing the total number of sanctioned vessels to 673.
The EU also sharply expanded financial restrictions by freezing assets and prohibiting transactions involving 94 Russian banks and major financial institutions. Transaction bans were imposed on 33 Russian credit and financial institutions, as well as a Kyrgyz bank linked to Russia's SPFS financial messaging system and three other foreign banks accused of helping Moscow circumvent sanctions.
The sanctions also take aim at cryptocurrency networks allegedly used to evade restrictions. Four entities connected to the cross-border A7 payment network were designated, while transaction bans were imposed on 14 crypto service providers based in various countries.