EU proposes 117 new Russia sanctions listings, with refineries and oil export terminals a key focus

The European Union’s diplomatic service, the EEAS, has proposed 117 new sanctions listings against Russia, with the country’s oil refining and export capacity a key focus, according to draft documents presented to EU ambassadors on Wednesday 21 October and seen by the Kyiv Independent.

The EEAS “proposed 117 additional listings targeting sectors which raise revenue for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, such as the financial sector, energy sector, and the Russian shadow fleet,” a spokesperson for the Irish presidency of the Council of the EU told journalists.

The draft lists 12 individuals and 105 entities. If adopted, they would face a ban on transactions with the EU and a freeze on any assets they hold in the bloc.

Refineries and banks

Thirty-one of the proposed listings concern Russia’s oil processing, refining and export capacity, the Kyiv Independent reported. The others include 52 banks and financial institutions, two entities that process Russian liquefied natural gas, and a steel company operating in Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The proposal also covers companies in third countries accused of helping Russia evade sanctions, including 12 in the United Arab Emirates and others based in Oman, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Seychelles. Some of the 12 individuals have ties to the e-commerce platforms Ozon and Wildberries and to the search engine Yandex, according to the report.

The EU is also preparing to sanction a further 15 companies in Russia’s military-industrial complex, and to remove one entity in a third country from the list because it “has ceased the activity which led to its inclusion in the list”, according to the draft legal text.

Context

The proposal comes about two weeks after US President Donald Trump agreed a deal to import diesel from Russia. EU leaders criticised the deal and the wider US approach to Ukraine at their summit in Brussels on 15–16 October.

“We see that we have to pressure the aggressor to stop the war, not the victim to surrender,” said Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, who oversees the bloc’s sanctions.

Next steps

The listings will next be reviewed by sanctions experts from the 27 member states, then return to EU ambassadors for approval before a final vote by ministers.