EU Approves Record Sanctions Expansion Targeting 1.6K Russian Citizens and Entities
The European Union has agreed to blacklist more than 1,600 people and entities, the largest single expansion of its sanctions regime against Russia since the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The new listings cover 743 individuals and 826 entities primarily linked to Russia's defense industry, with more than half concentrated on missile production, and the 22nd package also targets 77 political figures and election officials in connection with last month's parliamentary elections in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. EU foreign ministers are to formally approve the list in Luxembourg on Monday, bringing the total number of people and entities under EU sanctions over the war to nearly 4,650.
Why it matters: The expansion keeps sanctions as the EU's central instrument against Russia's defense industry, while the removal of two oligarchs and talk of qualified majority voting point to strain inside the bloc's listings process.