The Voice News: BRUSSELS — The European Union on Tuesday adopted four new sanctions packages against Russia, marking the 17th round of measures since the start of the war in Ukraine. These sanctions target Russia’s shadow oil fleet, chemical weapons activities, human rights violations, and hybrid threats, according to the European Commission.
The EU, alongside G7 allies, continues to crack down on Russia’s use of a shadow fleet of oil tankers that work around the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian crude introduced in late 2022. With the sanctions starting to impact Russian exports, EU leaders will push for an even lower cap during this week’s G7 finance ministers’ meeting in Canada.
The new sanctions list includes over 130 individuals and entities. Among the 75 new additions are Russian oil giant Surgutneftegaz, a shipping insurer, and four fleet management companies based in the UAE, Turkey, and Hong Kong. Although the Dubai branch of Lukoil’s trading arm Litasco was initially considered, it was removed following objections from Hungary. However, Litasco’s Dubai-based shipping subsidiary, Eiger Shipping DMCC, was added.
The EU also listed 189 more vessels—183 of them oil tankers—bringing the total number of sanctioned ships to 324. The EU is working with countries that offer vessel registration services to prevent Russia from using “flags of convenience,” with flagged ships linked to countries like Sierra Leone, Gabon, Comoros, India, Azerbaijan, and San Marino.
Additionally, the new sanctions restrict exports of dual-use goods—technologies that could be used for military purposes—and target companies in China, Belarus, and Israel that support Russia’s military-industrial base.