EU plans major expansion of sanctions pressure on Russia

The European Union plans to expand its sanctions pressure on Russia this autumn significantly, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in an interview with German newspaper Die Welt.

According to Kallas, the new package of restrictions will be the bloc’s largest since 2022, although Russia has already had to pay a “high price.”

“If adopted, the number of Russian individuals, companies and organisations under sanctions will increase by one-third at once. The pressure needs to be increased,” she said.

Kallas did not disclose the nature of the planned restrictions.

The diplomat added that the US Senate’s adoption of a bill on sanctions against Russia, initiated by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, “gives hope for closer ties between Europe and the United States.”

In the same interview, Kallas called for the EU to “better coordinate its instruments in Europe’s interests,” including at the level of diplomatic decisions.

The EU’s latest, 21st package of sanctions was approved on July 23.

By Jeyhun Aghazada