European Union members agreed on the 13th package of anti-Russian sanctions, the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU said.
“This package is one of the broadest approved by the EU,” the presidency reported on X social network.
The head of the EU diplomacy Josep Borrell said that the new package would include nearly 200 people and legal entities. He added that the EU would also introduce measures against the defence and military-technical sectors.
Bloomberg, citing documents in its possession, reported that the sanctions will affect companies involved in the production of weapons and the supply of technology and electronics used by Russian defence companies.
The head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says that the 13th package of anti-Russian sanctions will be aimed at combating the evasion of sanctions with the help of third countries. According to the media, the EU has put forward proposals to ban EU firms from trading with a number of companies from China, Turkey, India and Serbia in connection with their assistance to Russia.
According to Reuters, the EU also plans to lift sanctions on three people – Arkady Volozh, the founder of Russian IT company Yandex; Sergey Mndoiants, a former vice president of AFK Sistema; and Slovakian citizen Jozef Hambalek, the head of the European branch of the Night Wolves motorbike club.
“Some of the restrictions expire on March 15. Envoys of the EU’s 27 member countries agreed on Wednesday to roll them over apart from the sanctions against Arkady Volozh, Sergey Mndoiants and Jozef Hambalek,” – Reuters reports. According to one of the agency’s sources, the restrictions on Mndoiants and Hambalek were recognised as unjustified from the legal point of view.
Meanwhile, the EU decided to maintain sanctions against Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov, businessman Vyacheslav Kantor and race car driver Nikita Mazepin, despite Hungary’s proposal to drop punitive measures against them, Reuters reported. In February, the EU General Court rejected Mr Usmanov’s lawsuit to appeal the sanctions. “The Court of Justice does not explain or comment on its judgments,” court officials told European Interest, declining to comment on the reasoning behind its decision against the billionaire.
The EU is expected to formally approve the new sanctions package on 24 February.
