EU agrees to sanction over 1,600 people and entities linked to Russia's war

The EU will soon add over 1,600 names, including 77 lawmakers who stood for election in the occupied territories of Ukraine, to its Russia sanctions. The decision comes amid an unsettling rise in hybrid attacks.
The European Union has agreed the single largest expansion of its sanctions list against Russia, adding 1,646 names in one go.

The deal, sealed on Wednesday by ambassadors in Brussels, covers 743 individuals and 826 entities accused of supporting Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Separately, it targets 77 lawmakers who stood in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine for the widely discredited State Duma election in September.

Ambassadors wrapped up the agreement after several weeks of deliberations and legal scrubbing, which was particularly intensive given the sheer number of names.

It will be formally approved on Monday when foreign ministers gather in Luxembourg. The targeted people and entities will then be made public.

Sanctions entail a travel ban, an asset freeze and a prohibition on providing funding.

Member states were keen to close the agreement to portray a united front amid a rapid succession of hybrid attacks, some attributed to Russia. Work has already begun on new listings in response to the drone incident at the Leipzig airport in Germany.

Another reason to project unity is last month's contentious decision to remove two high-profile oligarchs, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from the blacklist.

Usmanov's removal, at France's request, was tied to a prisoner release with Azerbaijan brokered by the Turkic states, which have long lobbied in the billionaire's favour. One French citizen has been released while a second remains in prison.

In exchange for the painful concession, the EU extended the sanctions list for an unprecedented three years. In total, the blacklist will soon cover almost 4,650 names.

Earlier this week, High Representative Kaja Kallas celebrated the three-year renewal but admitted it is unlikely that Usmanov and Fridman will be included again.

"Countries are free to put forward names that should be included in the sanctions list. But in the end, it is up to the member states to decide," Kallas said.
"And I do not see this on these two persons happening any time soon."

Brussels is still grappling with the aftermath of the Usmanov saga and the precedent it might have set for the common foreign policy, which relies on unanimity.

As the bloc prepares to admit new members, the European Commission has proposed using the so-called passerelle clause to move from unanimity to qualified majority voting on issues such as sanctions, thereby avoiding the multiplication of vetoes.