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EU targets Russian energy, banks, goods and services in latest sanctions package

BRUSSELS — The European Commission proposed its latest package of sanctions against Russia on Friday, in a package that broadens restrictions on Russian energy, banks, goods and services.

“As important peace talks are underway in Abu Dhabi, we must be clear-eyed: Russia will only come to the table with genuine intent if it is pressured to do so. This is the only language Russia understands,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement.

The 20th package of Russia sanctions includes a full maritime services ban for Russian crude oil and targets 43 more vessels as part of the so-called shadow fleet. It adds bans on the provision of maintenance and other services for LNG tankers and icebreakers to further dent gas export projects — a move that would stop them from using European ports.

It also introduces new import bans on metals, chemicals and critical minerals, as well as further export restrictions on items and technologies used for Russia’s battlefield effort, such as materials used to produce explosives.

The package lists 20 more Russian regional banks as well as several banks in third countries that are perceived as facilitating trade in sanctioned goods.

Von der Leyen said a drop of 24 percent in Russian oil and gas revenues last year, to the lowest since 2020, confirmed that sanctions were working. “We will continue to use them until Russia engages in serious negotiations with Ukraine for a just and lasting peace,” she asserted.

EU countries would need to approve the package for the measures to take effect, with the goal getting a deal over the line in time for the four-year mark of Vladimir Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine on Feb. 24.

The proposal comes on the heels of a round of trilateral talks between Ukrainian, American and Russian negotiators this week in Abu Dhabi, where Ukraine and Russia agreed to swap 314 prisoners of war.

LP Staff Writers

Writers at Lord’s Press come from a range of professional backgrounds, including history, diplomacy, heraldry, and public administration. Many publish anonymously or under initials—a practice that reflects the publication’s long-standing emphasis on discretion and editorial objectivity. While they bring expertise in European nobility, protocol, and archival research, their role is not to opine, but to document. Their focus remains on accuracy, historical integrity, and the preservation of events and individuals whose significance might otherwise go unrecorded.

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