EU renews economic sanctions against Russia for another six months

The Council said this in a press release, Ukrinform reports.

These sanctions, first introduced in 2014, were significantly expanded since February 2022 in response to Russia's unprovoked, unjustified and illegal military aggression against Ukraine.

They currently consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods.

They also cover a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, a de-SWIFTing of several Russian banks and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licenses in the European Union of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets.

Additionally, specific measures enable the EU to counter sanctions circumvention.

"As long as the illegal actions by the Russian Federation continue to violate the prohibition on the use of force, which is a serious breach of obligations under international law, it is appropriate to maintain in force all the measures imposed by the EU and to take additional measures, if necessary," the press release reads.

Since February 24, 2022, the EU has adopted 14 unprecedented and hard-hitting packages of sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.