The EU has prolonged the sanctions against Russia by six months, with the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation.

As the press office of the EU Council reports, these sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia's actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded since February 2022, in response to Russia’s unprovoked and unjustified 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 of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets.

Additionally, specific measures were introduced to strengthen the ability of the EU to counter sanctions circumvention.

These measures include restrictions on economic relations with the illegally annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol as well as the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; individual restrictive measures (asset freezes and travel restrictions) on a broad range of individuals and entities, and diplomatic measures.

The decision to extend the sanctions was made by the EU leaders on June 30. On May 23, the EU approved the 11th package of sanctions against Russia, primarily aimed at countering sanctions evasion tactics already in place.