WIREDGOV

The Council decided recently (08 April 2022) to impose restrictive measures on an additional 217 individuals and 18 entities in response to the ongoing unjustified and unprovoked Russian military aggression against Ukraine and other actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.

Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy recently said:

We are again reinforcing our sanctions lists and adding more people from politics, the business sector and those engaged in propaganda activities, together with more entities from the financial, military industrial and transport sectors. Our focus is clear - we are not targeting ordinary Russian people. We are targeting the Kremlin, the political and economic elites supporting Putin’s war in Ukraine. The aim of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behaviour of the Russian troops and make clear to the decision makers in the Kremlin that their illegal aggression comes at a heavy cost.

The 217 listed individuals include high-ranking Kremlin officials, oligarchs - Moshe Kantor, Boris Rotenberg and Oleg Deripaska -, other prominent businesspeople involved in key economic sectors such as energy, finance, media, defence and arms industry, as well as proponents of disinformation and information manipulation, systematically spreading the Kremlin’s false narrative on the situation in Ukraine.

The list also includes family members of already sanctioned individuals, in view of the fact that they are benefiting from the regime or to prevent the circumvention of EU sanctions. These designations include Maria Vladimirovna Vorontsova and Ekaterina Vladimirovna Tikhonova, the daughters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lastly, the so-called ministers and the members of the ‘People’s Council’ of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ and ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ are also blacklisted.

The 18 sanctioned entities include four major Russian banks (Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Sovcombank, and VTB), a company active in the transport sector and owned by the Russian Federation, and companies in the military-defence industry whose technology or products have played a role in the invasion.

The recent decision is part of a fifth package of restrictive measures imposed by the EU against Russia in view of its military aggression against Ukraine.

Altogether, EU restrictive measures now apply to a total of 1091 individuals and 80 entities. Those designated are subject to an asset freeze and EU citizens and companies are forbidden from making funds available to them. Natural persons are additionally subject to a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territories.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine grossly violates international law and is causing massive loss of life and injury to civilians. Russia is directing attacks against the civilian population and is targeting civilian objects, including hospitals, medical facilities, schools and shelters. These war crimes must stop immediately. Those responsible, and their accomplices, will be held to account in accordance with international law. The siege of Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities, and the denial of humanitarian access by Russian military forces are unacceptable. Russian forces must immediately provide for safe pathways to other parts of Ukraine, as well as humanitarian aid to be delivered to Mariupol and other besieged cities.

The European Council demands that Russia immediately stop its military aggression in the territory of Ukraine, immediately and unconditionally withdraw all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine, and fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence within its internationally recognised borders.

The relevant legal acts, including the names of the listed individuals and entity, have been published in the Official Journal of the EU.

• Official Journal of the European Union, L 110, of 8 April 2022, including a list of sanctioned individuals and entities
• EU adopts fifth round of sanctions against Russia over its military aggression against Ukraine, 7 April 2022
• EU restrictive measures in response to the crisis in Ukraine
• European Council conclusions, 24-25 March 2022
• Ukraine: Declaration by the High Representative on behalf of the EU on Russian atrocities committed in Bucha and other Ukrainian towns, 2 April 2022

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