In a statement on Thursday, the European Commission said its new “maintenance and alignment” package will reinforce the alignment of EU sanctions with those of its G7 partners. “It will also strengthen reporting requirements to tighten EU asset freezes,” the Commission stated.
This is the seventh package the EU has introduced since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February this year. But sources say they have been dubbed the “six and a half package” as they are so limited. A total of 48 people and nine entities are included in the latest package.
But Volodymyr Zelenskiy reacted by saying that the package does not go far is not enough. “Russia must feel a much higher price for the war to force it to seek peace,” he was reported as saying in The Guardian.
The sanctions include a new import ban on Russian gold, and, according to media also lists Sberbank, which had already been removed from the Swift international payment system in any case.
Individuals named in the draft sanctions list seen by some media include actors Vladimir Mashkov and Sergey Bezrukov, as well as Andrey Bobrowskyi from the nationalist motorcycle club Nightwolves MC. They will have their assets frozen and their ability to travel curtailed
“Moscow must continue to pay a high price for its aggression,” said Commission president Ursula von der Leyen when announcing the package with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs. “The EU's sanctions are tough and hard-hitting,” Borell added. “We continue to target those close to Putin and the Kremlin.”
The sanctions, which are being extended until January 2023, do not target the trade in agricultural products between third countries and Russia.