European Council introduces 16th sanction package against Russia News
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European Council introduces 16th sanction package against Russia

The Council of the European Union (EU) released on Monday another package imposing sanctions on individuals and entities accused of enabling Russia’s indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine, marking the 16th sanction package since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The updated sanction package now lists an additional 48 individuals and 35 new entities, raising the total number of sanctioned individuals and entities to approximately 2,400. In an effort to prevent named parties from circumventing sanctions, the package will impose new restrictions on trade, energy, transport, infrastructure, disinformation, and financial sectors in countries accused of aiding and abetting Russia’s invasion, as well as on third-country actors. The sanctions will also target Russia’s military equipment manufacturers, tech companies, entities providing crude oil revenue to the Russian government, and the Russian-based crypto-currency exchange service called Garantex.

The package introduced bans on Russian aluminum exports to the EU, temporary storage of Russian crude oil in all EU ports, select Russian air and seaports, EU construction services operating in Russia, third-country flight carriers operating within Russia, and on companies that supply aviation goods to Russian airlines.

In an attempt to curtail Russian “propaganda,” the council suspended eight media outlets from operating within the EU—including NewsFront and SouthFront—who the council claimed to have “distorted interpretations of history” and “manipulated information in line with Kremlin messaging,” to bolster support for Russia’s invasion from both European and global audiences.

Sanctioned individuals include Russian businessmen in mining and energy sectors, politicians and public figures, and individuals involved in the “mass abduction, illegal re-education, deportation and forced transfer of Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia.”

The Council’s sanction package was introduced alongside the UK’s updated sanctions against Russia.