The list of individuals sanctioned for ties to Vladimir Putin and Russia’s involvement in the war in Ukraine continues to grow. Since the latest batch, 217 new names and 18 organizations have been added to the blacklist by the European Union, bringing the total to 898 persons and 32 entities barred from entry into EU territory and subject to asset freezes. Among those anticipated to appear on the final EU Official Journal are Putin’s two daughters, Katerina Tikhonova and Maria Vorontsova, along with several key oligarchs in the president’s inner circle, including the aluminum magnate Oleg Deripaska. Brussels notes that member states have already frozen roughly 30 billion euros in assets as part of these measures.
The European Union states that the newly sanctioned individuals include oligarchs and businessmen who have played central roles in the occupation, as well as senior regime officials, actors involved in disinformation campaigns, and operators of cyber activities that promote the Kremlin’s narrative about Ukraine. The package also targets relatives of those already sanctioned, closing potential loopholes, such as Putin’s daughters. Since the start of the conflict, the EU has placed roughly 900 names and 32 companies on the sanctions list, with additional updates following the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014. The most recent rounds have seen 1,091 people and 80 organizations affected, including 179 figures linked to the governments and parliaments in Donetsk and Luhansk.
As confirmed by the European Commission recently, half of the member states have notified Brussels of measures to freeze assets for the sanctioned individuals. The €30 billion in goods and assets under restriction include vessels, helicopters, residences, and various works of art. Financial operations worth about €196 billion have also been blocked. The Commission explained these figures within the framework of a high-level group established in March to coordinate sanctions enforcement against Russia and Belarus. This platform aims to harmonize actions among member states to freeze and seize assets of Russian and Belarusian oligarchs.
8 thousand million coal embargo
The fifth sanctions package introduces a ban on Russian coal imports, with a four-month transition period for contracts already underway, effective from August 8. Initial EU estimates of the impact on the Russian economy were around €4 billion annually, but more recent Brussels analyses project a higher annual impact of approximately €8 billion.
The package also enforces a broad access ban on European ports for vessels registered under the Russian flag, with exceptions for agricultural products, humanitarian aid, and energy shipments. Restrictions on road transport by Russian and Belarusian operators are also expanded, though exemptions apply to pharmaceutical, medical, agricultural, and food products, including wheat, and to humanitarian aid.
four banks
In the financial sector, the sanctions extend to outright restrictions on four additional Russian banks—Sovcombank, Novikombank, VTB, and Otkritie. These banks account for a sizable share of the Russian banking market, and their exclusion is expected to further weaken the country’s financial system. The package also bars high-value crypto-asset services to Russia to prevent evasion and to complicate efforts by Russian millionaires to safeguard wealth within EU frameworks.
Another significant step in the new measures targets trade with the aim of limiting Russian exports. The package restricts access to a broad array of important materials, ranging from high-end quantum computing components to semiconductors, software, precision machinery, and chemicals. Russian imports such as certain spirits, premium seafood like caviar, timber, cement, and fertilizers face new restrictions valued at roughly €5.5 billion. To close legislative gaps and prevent evasion, Russian companies will be barred from public tenders within EU Member States, and Russian public companies will lose access to EU financing. Brussels will suspend all payments under programs such as Horizon Europe, Euratom, and Erasmus+, and no new contracts will be issued.