Media: EU expands sanctions against Russia, Belarus

The European Union has further tightened sanctions on Russia, targeting individuals and firms linked to Moscow’s so-called “shadow fleet” as well as actors deemed to threaten EU security.

According to Rikard Jozwiak, Europe Editor, Radio Free Europe, EU ambassadors have agreed to:

• Sanction nine individuals and companies facilitating Russia’s shadow fleet.

• Blacklist 43 shadow fleet vessels.

• Impose measures on 12 individuals and two entities considered to destabilise the EU. This group includes officers from Russia’s GRU intelligence service, members of the Valdai Club, and foreign nationals from the United States, France, and Switzerland working in Russia.

In a separate move, EU ambassadors also agreed to expand sanctions on Belarus in response to recent balloon incursions into Lithuanian airspace.

The measures are expected to be formally approved by EU foreign ministers next week.

By Aghakazim Guliyev