Brussels (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – On Monday, the European Council extended its sanctions against Russia for another six months, until January 31, 2026. The European Union has adopted 17 sets of steps targeting the Russian government, as well as entities and individuals backing Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The EU Council expressed that it will hold the sanctions and take additional measures if required, “as long as the illegal actions by the Russian Federation continue to violate fundamental rules of international law.”
What triggered the first EU sanctions in 2014?
In 2014, the European Union’s first sanctions against Russia were issued in response to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea and attempt to destabilize Ukraine. Those sanctions included asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions on individuals and entities that participated in the aggression.
Since Russia’s full-scale, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has greatly scaled up and strengthened sanctions against Russian individuals and entities.
How many sanction packages has the EU adopted
As of May 2025, the EU has adopted 17 sanction packages against Russia, progressively tightening restrictions, filling gaps in the sanctions, introducing new anti-circumvention instruments, and specifying criminal sanctions for violations. The sanctions target a variety of sectors apart from Russia’s energy revenues, including the military-industrial complex, financial services, and oil tankers dubbed the “shadow fleet,” which are used to evade sanctions.
The 17th sanctions package, adopted on May 20, 2025, imposed significant sanctions on 189 vessels, bringing 342 the total number of ships restricted from entering and using EU ports and services and significantly hampered Russia’s ability to conceal its oil exports.
Will the EU adopt an 18th sanctions package?
The European Union is preparing to approve its 18th sanctions package against Russia imminently, with German government officials expecting the package to be agreed upon. The European Commission proposed this new package on June 10, 2025, focusing on further restricting Russia’s energy revenues, targeting its banking sector, and imposing additional measures on the military industry.
