– The European Union has imposed several packages of sanctions on Russia for launching an “unprecedented and unprovoked military attack against Ukraine”, with some measures the bloc has never applied before and some deemed a taboo until Russia’s invasion.
The measures come on top of sanctions already in place since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
According to the EU, the sanctions are designed “to cripple the Kremlin’s ability to finance the war, impose clear economic and political costs on Russia’s political elite responsible for the invasion and diminish (Russia’s) economic base”.
This is a list of the measures agreed so far:
RUSSIA’S CENTRAL BANK
The EU has frozen part of what it calls “Putin’s war chest” by banning its transactions and freezing all its assets in the EU. This is meant to make it impossible for the central bank to liquidate its assets.
SWIFT
A certain number of Russian banks, representing 70% of the country’s banking market, are to be cut off from SWIFT, the world’s dominant global payment system. The moved is intended to harm their ability to operate globally, stopping the banks from conducting most of their financial transactions worldwide and effectively blocking Russia’s exports and imports.
RUSSIAN STATE-OWNED MEDIA
The EU is set to tackle what it calls “the Kremlin’s media machine”, banning state-owned broadcaster Russia Today, the news agency Sputnik and their subsidiaries. The move is intended to make sure they “will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in the Union”.
AIRSPACE
The EU has shut down its airspace for Russia, banning all Russian aircraft from taking off, landing or overflying the EU. The ban applies to all aircraft, no matter whether they are owned by Russians, registered in Russia or controlled by Russian individuals or companies – including private jets owned or chartered by oligarchs.
WEAPONS
For the first time in its history, the EU has agreed to use its funds for purchasing and delivering weapons to Ukraine. 450 million euros are earmarked for buying arms, another 50 million euros will be used for financing other supplies such as fuel or medical equipment.
BELARUS
The EU has agreed to hit Belarus, which it sees as complicit in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with further sanctions. The bloc aims to stop Belarusian exports of mineral fuels, tobacco, wood, timber, cement, iron and steel.
BLACKLISTINGS
The EU has blacklisted hundreds of additional people, many of them members of the Russian parliament who voted for the recognition of the breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. Their bank accounts in the EU are now frozen and they are banned from travelling to the bloc.
The most prominent individuals on the blacklist are Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, although they are exempt from the travel ban. This is meant to enable negotiations with them should the opportunity arise.
Still, Putin is now one of only three world leaders blacklisted by the EU, along with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. The blacklist currently includes 654 individuals and 52 entities in total.
ENERGY SECTOR
The sanctions ban the export of specific refining technologies, making it harder and more expensive for Russia to modernise its oil refineries. They add to an existing oil equipment ban imposed in 2014. Russia earned 24 billion euros in 2019 from refined oil exports to the EU, according to the bloc.
TRANSPORT SECTOR
The EU has banned the export, sale, supply or transfer of all aircraft, aircraft parts and equipment to Russia as well as all services related to the repair, maintenance and financing of aircraft.
Three-quarters of Russia’s commercial air fleet were built in the EU, United States and Canada, according to the EU. The sanctions mean that “Russia will not be able to maintain its fleet to international standards”, the EU said.
DUAL-USE GOODS AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
The EU has toughened existing sanctions on goods that can be used for civilian as well as military purposes, targeting Russia’s and Belarus’ military-industrial complex and limiting their access to advanced technology such as drones and software for drones, software for encryption devices, semiconductors and advanced electronics.
These measures are meant to downgrade Russia’s technological capabilities over time.
DIPLOMAT VISAS
Russian holders of diplomat passports will no longer enjoy visa-free travel to the EU, and Russian government officials and business people will no longer benefit from lower fees when applying for a visa. This measure will not apply to Russian citizens in general, who will retain the benefits they currently have.
TRADE WITH BREAKAWAY REGIONS IN UKRAINE
The EU has imposed an import ban on goods from breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, on doing business with tourism services there and on exports of certain goods and technologies.
(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by John Chalmers and Hugh Lawson)
