One year after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Brussels approved the tenth package of sanctions against Russia on Friday night. According to the latest details reported by AFP, these new sanctions directly target 121 people and entities involved in the war. These restrictions will now be extended to 96 entities and three Russian banks, according to the EU statement.
At the same time, the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, clarified that these are “larger-scale” sanctions and that the EU wants to “put pressure on those who try to circumvent these sanctions.”
• EU exports to Russia prohibited
Already applied to other goods, this time the ban on exports from the European Union to Russia now extends “to dual-use goods such as electronics, specialized vehicles, mechanical parts, spare parts for truck and aircraft engines, antennas, cranes, drones, rare earth materials, electronic circuits and thermal imaging cameras.
According to European officials, these goods represent trade worth more than 11 billion euros. Most of these new goods added to the long list represent strategic goods that can facilitate Russia’s military buildup.
• Sanctions against propaganda
This new component provides for strengthening sanctions against the media that allow the preservation of Russian propaganda. These new measures aim in particular at suspending the licenses of the Arab offices of RT and Sputnik, media already banned within the EU.
As a reminder, RT France had an obligation to put the key under the door after the accounts of the French branch of the Russian channel were frozen. Freezes directly linked to the application of European sanctions.
• Iran targeted for drone manufacturing
Iran is on the list of the new package of sanctions deployed by the EU. In fact, the country is involved in the war through the manufacture and delivery of drones to Russia.
AFP states in its statement that seven Iranian companies are actively involved in the design of “explosive drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian targets”, as well as in infrastructure and buildings for the civilian population. Since the beginning of the war, drones have become a strategic tool.
• Sanctions for those “responsible for the deportation of children”
Finally, according to the vice president of the European Commission, Josep Borell, the latest set of sanctions is directed at those “responsible for the deportation and forced adoption of at least 6,000 Ukrainian children”, in violation of international law.
Various NGO reports put the number of Ukrainian children abducted by the Russians at between 200,000 and 700,000. According to the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, there are 150,000 children.
Source: BFM TV
