Proposed restrictions on oil and finance
The EEAS presented 117 additional sanctions listings to EU ambassadors on Oct. 21 to target the financial and energy sectors, alongside the Russian shadow fleet. This proposal comes two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump agreed to import diesel from Russia, a deal that led EU leaders to condemn the change in U.S. attitude during a meeting in Brussels on Oct. 15-16. The draft document lists 12 individuals and 105 entities that would face a transaction ban with the EU and an asset freeze if adopted. These new restrictions focus on 31 listings for Russia’s oil processing and exporting capacity, spanning from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin. EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said, "We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop the war, not the victim to surrender." Companies on these lists find it difficult to do business with sanctioned entities because they risk their commercial ties with the EU.
| Category | Count |
|---|---|
| Total proposed listings | 117 |
| Total entities | 105 |
| Total individuals | 12 |
| Russian oil capacity listings | 31 |
| Financial institution listings | 52 |
| UAE-based entity listings | 12 |
Targeting evasion and military support
The listings include 52 banking and financial institutions and two entities that process Russian liquefied natural gas, plus a steel company operating from Russian-occupied territory in Donetsk Oblast. To combat sanctions evasion, the EU targets 12 entities in the United Arab Emirates and several companies in Oman, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Seychelles. The 12 sanctioned individuals have ties to Yandex and the e-commerce platforms Ozon and Wildberries. These companies have traded in products that help the Russian military effort and have all been the targets of successful Ukrainian military strikes. The EU also prepares to sanction 15 more companies in the Russian military-industrial complex. This move is a blunt response to the increased Russian capacity to evade international pressure. One entity in a third country will see its sanctions removed because it ceased the activity that led to its inclusion and committed to refrain from any such activity in the future. Sanctions experts from the 27 EU countries must now scrutinize the listings before ambassadors and ministers hold a final vote.
