European Union Approves 5th Package Of Sanctions Against Russian Federation

The EU Council approved the 5th package of economic and personal sanctions against Russia in connection with the war against Ukraine.

This, according to European Pravda, is stated in the message of the Council of the EU.

As stated in the EU Council, the package includes a number of measures aimed at increasing pressure on the Russian government and economy, as well as limiting the Kremlin's resources for aggression.

“These latest sanctions come in the wake of the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation. The purpose of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behavior of the Russian troops and to make it clear to decision makers in the Kremlin that their illegal aggression is costly for them,” said the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.

The package includes:

- a ban from August 2022 on the purchase, import or transport of coal and other solid fossil fuels in the EU if they originate in Russia or are exported from Russia. Currently, EU coal imports amount to EUR 8 billion per year.

- a ban on granting access to EU ports to ships registered under the Russian flag. Exceptions are granted for agricultural and food products, humanitarian aid and energy.

- a ban on any Russian and Belarusian road transport enterprises to transport goods by road within the EU, including in transit. However, exemptions are granted for a number of products such as pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural and food products, including wheat, as well as humanitarian road transport.

- further export bans targeting jet fuel and other commodities such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery and transport equipment, as well as new import bans on products such as timber, cement, fertilizers, seafood and alcohol. The agreed export and import bans amount to EUR 10 billion and EUR 5.5 billion, respectively.

- a number of targeted economic measures aimed at strengthening existing measures and filling gaps in the imposed sanctions.

Besides, the Council of the EU decided to impose sanctions on companies whose products or technologies played a role in the invasion, key oligarchs and businessmen, propagandists, as well as family members of sanctioned individuals.

Besides, a complete ban on transactions has been imposed on four key Russian banks, representing 23% of the market in the Russian banking sector. As explained in the EU Council, after deSWIFTization, these banks are now subject to an asset freeze and are completely cut off from the EU markets.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, the EU did not include an embargo on Russian oil in the package of sanctions.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba demands new G7 sanctions (US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Japan) for Russia, such as an embargo on oil, gas, coal, closing ports for Russian ships and goods, disconnecting banks from SWIFT.