EU digs deep with more Russia sanctions targeting energy, steel, defence sectors
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The European Union formally approved on Tuesday a new barrage of sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, which include bans on investments in the Russian energy sector, luxury goods exports and imports of steel products from Russia.
The sanctions, which come into effect after publication in the EU official journal later on Tuesday, also freeze the assets of more business leaders who support the Russian state, including Chelsea football club owner Roman Abramovich.
The European Commission said in a statement on Tuesday that the sanctions included “a far-reaching ban on new investment across the Russian energy sector”.
The measure will hit Russia’s oil majors Rosneft, Transneft and Gazprom Neft, but EU members will be still able to buy oil and gas from them, an EU source told Reuters.
There will also be a total ban on transactions with some Russian state-owned enterprises linked to the Kremlin’s military-industrial complex, the EU executive said.
The bloc reached a preliminary agreement on the new sanctions on Monday, and no objections were raised before an agreed deadline.
The ban on Russian steel imports is estimated to affect 3.3 billion euros ($3.6 billion) worth of products, the Commission said.
