EU imposes record 1,600 sanctions on Russia in biggest-ever crackdown

The European Union foreign ministers have widened crackdown against Russia with its single largest-ever sanctions addition.

On Monday, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced that the bloc has adopted nearly 1600 new sanctions listings targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex as “more than half are connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles.”

"This is the single largest expansion of our sanctions list since Russia started its war," Kallas said.

"We are making it significantly harder, slower, and more expensive for Russia to produce the weapons it uses to kill Ukrainians."

The new listings target a wide range of industries, including shipyards, aerospace and aviation firms, electronics manufacturers, and armored vehicle repair facilities.

According to the statement, the restrictive measures currently apply to 31 individuals and six entities.

The new entities were also targeted using broad criteria such as entitlement to subsidies from the Russian government and official designation by Russia as part of its military-industrial complex.

Those listed would not be allowed to make EU transactions as their assets would be frozen. The EU citizens and companies will be barred from making funds available to them directly or indirectly. Such individuals under listings cannot travel to the EU.

The total number of EU sanctions against Russia rose significantly from around 3,000 to over 4,500.

In a separate statement, the EU Council extended its sanction framework against the proliferation and use of chemical weapons by five years, through October 30, 2031. Individual sanction listings under the regime were also renewed for one year, until October 30, 2027.