Brussels has tightened the economic screws on Moscow once again, extending its sanctions by six months. As a novelty, it will also be able to go after companies trying to sidestep the rules.
On 22 December, the EU Council renewed the bloc’s sectoral sanctions on Russia for another six months, pushing their expiry to 31 July 2026. The measures—first imposed in 2014 and hugely strengthened after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022—target trade, finance, energy, technology and transport.
They bite hard. The EU bans seaborne Russian crude and many refined products. Several Russian banks no longer use SWIFT. Kremlin-backed television channels stay silent across the union. New rules also let Brussels pursue firms that try to dodge the curbs.
EU leaders say the pressure will stay until the Kremlin halts its war. The Council argues that Russia’s assault “violates fundamental rules of international law, including the prohibition on the use of force”, and warns that fresh penalties remain an option.
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Keeping the screws tight
Sanctions form only one layer of Europe’s response. The EU restricts economic links with Crimea, Sevastopol and four other occupied regions: Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. Thousands of Russian officials, soldiers and cronies face asset freezes and travel bans. Diplomatic contacts with Moscow sit at a minimum.
Seventeen “unprecedented and hard-hitting” packages have rolled out since tanks crossed Ukraine’s border. Each round closed loopholes or broadened the blacklist. The economic toll mounts, yet EU capitals insist endurance matters more than speed.
The European Council’s conclusions of 19 December 2024 set the tone. Leaders condemned Russia’s aggression as “a manifest violation of the UN Charter” and promised to back Kyiv for “as long as it takes”. That pledge covers money, arms, humanitarian aid and diplomacy.
Pressure with purpose
Brussels also backs President Volodymyr Zelensky’s ‘Peace Formula’, insisting no initiative about Ukraine proceed without Ukraine. Officials vow to keep courting partners worldwide to isolate Moscow further.
Russia shows no sign of retreat. The EU, for its part, stands ready to tighten the vise yet again.
