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EU sanctions expand
The European Union agreed to the terms of the 21st sanctions package against Russia, with President of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen announcing the agreements on Thursday morning, July 23.
“EU approves the 21st package of sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, targeting banks, cryptocurrencies and extending the price cap on oil”
The package expands shipping and tanker bans, adding 41 more vessels on top of the 632 already listed, and for the first time adds five bunker vessels that have regularly refueled shadow fleet tankers.
It also adds 32 banks to the sanctions, along with crypto firms and oil traders, and extends the oil price cap for 12 months while suspending a price adjustment mechanism until July 2027.
Kaja Kallas, Vice President of the European Commission the the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said, "With each round of sanctions, we squeeze Russia’s economy and its capacity to prolong its illegal war," as the measures move toward final approval by the European Union before they go into effect.
Zelensky thanks EU
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the European Union and European leaders for adopting the 21st sanctions package against Russia during an encounter with Irish prime minister Micheàl Martin, as Ireland holds the semester of the EU Council presidency.
Zelensky said, "È fondamentale mantenere l'unità e proseguire con questa pressione," and added that Micheàl Martin had assured him he would work on the 22esimo pacchetto di sanzioni.
TVP World chief international correspondent Alex Cadier said the talks exposed a tension over how to punish Moscow without imposing excessive costs on the EU itself, and he argued the compromise would still "hurt Russia."
Cadier described the process as a "massive multibillion-euro game of cat and mouse," while noting Greece secured an exemption for some Russian LNG shipments and that the final text still expands restrictions on Russian banks, cryptocurrency firms, oil-trading platforms and companies in third countries accused of helping Moscow evade sanctions.
What comes next
The 21st package is set to be formally adopted after final technical checks and a written procedure, with EU ambassadors agreeing on the bloc’s 21st package after weeks of delays tied to disputes over measures affecting member states’ economic interests.
“Greece secured a limited exemption for the transportation of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) as EU member states reached an agreement Thursday on the bloc’s 21st sanctions package against Moscow”
Kyiv Post reported that Ukrainian officials said the package adds 50 more shadow fleet vessels to the sanctions list, expands restrictions on nearly 90 banks, cryptocurrency platforms and oil traders, tightens export controls on drone-related technologies, and sanctions nearly 250 individuals and entities.
ANSA said the Council imposed the freezing of assets and a ban on making funds available to 94 banks and financial institutions, and it extended the scope of the shadow fleet rules by inserting other 41 ships beyond the 632 already subject to sanctions.
The stakes are framed as pressure on Russia’s ability to finance its war, with ANSA saying the package aims to "paralizzare ulteriormente l'economia e la macchina bellica russa" and with The Maritime Executive adding that the commission said Russia’s sovereign wealth fund liquid assets had been depleted by two-thirds since the start of the war.
