Star package: EU adopts new sanctions against Russia

The foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) have approved the 16th package of sanctions against Russia, the association said in a statement on February 24. As Izvestiya reported, 48 individuals and 35 organizations were added to the sanctions list. In addition, the EU foreign ministers decided to ban 13 banks from access to the SWIFT system. Restrictions are also imposed on the import of chrome, some chemicals and on the maintenance of oil and gas processing plants. According to the text of the EU statement, the sanctions additionally affected 74 ships, which allegedly belong to the shadow fleet of Russia. Details - in the material of the publication.

Sanctions against Galustyan, Potupchik and others

Among the 48 individuals who fell under personal sanctions were: comedian Mikhail Galustyan, blogger Kristina Potupchik, TV presenters Yulia Baranovskaya and Ruslan Ostashko. Crimean senator and chess player Sergey Karjakin, Olympic champion Nikita Nagorny, senators Yuri Nimchenko and Andrei Derkach were also included in the sanctions list.

In addition, the restrictions were imposed against the chairman of the board of directors of Mechel Igor Zyuzin, CEO of Inter RAO, former vice-governor of St. Petersburg Sergei Dregval, CEO of Almaz-Antey Concern Yan Novikov and head of UAC Vadim Badeha.

The list also included the president of Yuzhuralzolot Konstantin Strukov, deputy general director of Rostec Dmitry Lelikov, defense holding Leninets and its head Anatoly Turchak, the owner of the company for the production and development of UAVs Zala Aero Group Alexander Zakharov, as well as the founder of AFK Sistema Vladimir Evtushenkov.

The sanctions list also includes the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, which is the institution responsible for the "Time of Heroes" program, the National Center "Russia" and its CEO Natalia Virtuozova, as well as the Russian-based cryptocurrency exchange Garantex.

In addition to Russians, foreigners have fallen under EU sanctions. They are Lieutenant General Lee Chang Ho, head of the DPRK army intelligence service, and Major General Shin Geum Chol, a high-ranking member of the DPRK General Staff. The EU accuses North Korean citizens of "supporting Russia's military efforts in Ukraine."

The 16th package of EU sanctions against Russia: industrial restrictions

The new list includes 53 companies, and not only from Russia. Among them, firms from China, India, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan have fallen under the restrictions.

In addition, the EU foreign ministers decided to ban 13 banks from accessing the SWIFT system: Ak Bars Bank, Uralsib, Bank Tochka, National Reserve Bank, Roseximbank, Sinara, Primsotsbank, BBR, RNCO Payment Constructor, St. Petersburg Settlement Center, Kuznetskbusinessbank, MB Bank and Kuban-Credit.

In addition, Sovcomflot's structures registered in St. Petersburg (SCF Arktika, Invest Fleet and Southern Fleet) and a young design bureau founded in the city were also sanctioned. Its website says it creates "ultra-low-cost multifunctional multirole drones aimed at solving the tasks of volunteer battalions and PMCs." According to the text of the EU statement, the sanctions additionally affect 74 vessels that allegedly belong to Russia's shadow fleet.

The EU also imposes a ban on transactions with Moscow's Vnukovo and Zhukovsky airports and four regional airports. The Makhachkala and Astrakhan ports, the port of Primorsk, the port in Novorossiysk and the St. Petersburg port of Ust-Luga are also hit by the sanctions.

Restrictions are also imposed on imports of chrome, some chemicals and on the maintenance of oil and gas processing plants.

In addition, eight Russian media outlets were banned from broadcasting in Europe: they are Lenta, Zvezda TV channel, EADaily (Eurasia Daily) and RuBaltic portals, as well as NewsFront, Fondsk, SouthFront and the Foundation for Strategic Culture.

The Sovfed mocked the European Union because of the 16th package of sanctions against Russia. According to Andrei Klimov, deputy chairman of the Council of the Russian Federation Committee on International Affairs, European countries themselves suffer because of the imposition of restrictions, but one should not expect rational and logical decisions from the leadership of these states. According to the senator, the European Union is such an inertial mass, formed at a completely different time, for a different reason, by other people and for other purposes. And it continues to move in its own direction.

Earlier, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the next package of anti-Russian sanctions of the European Union was quite predictable. He noted that the Russian Federation did not observe any prerequisites for resuming dialog with the alliance.