The EU’s 20th sanctions package targets Russia’s energy revenues, financial sector, shadow fleet and military-industrial supply chains.

Russia has denounced the European Union’s 20th sanctions package, after the bloc adopted new measures targeting Moscow’s energy revenues, financial sector, shadow fleet and military-industrial supply chains.

The package was formally approved on Thursday after Slovakia and Hungary dropped their objections following the resumption of oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline. 

The EU said the measures are aimed at further weakening Russia’s ability to finance its war against Ukraine. The package includes 120 new individual and entity listings, transaction bans on 20 Russian banks, new restrictions on crypto and trade, and measures targeting sanctions circumvention.

It also adds 46 vessels to the EU’s shadow fleet blacklist, bringing the total to 632, Reuters reported. The package includes restrictions on Russian-linked ports, icebreakers and liquified natural gas (LNG) tankers, as well as the bloc’s first use of an anti-circumvention tool to restrict exports of certain goods to countries accused of helping Russia bypass sanctions.

Moscow reacted angrily.

“The European Union has once again demonstrated its complete disregard for international law and the UN Charter,” Russia’s mission to the EU said, according to Russian state media TASS.

The mission accused Brussels of “economic coercion” and the “extraterritorial application” of sanctions against sovereign states cooperating with Russia.

It also claimed only sanctions approved by the UN Security Council are legitimate, calling all others “unilateral coercive measures.”

The EU has imposed sanctions on Russia since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, repeatedly expanding restrictions to target Russia’s war economy, energy exports, banks, military suppliers and sanctions evasion networks.

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/74624