EU ambassadors agree on 21st sanctions package against Russia
Ambassadors from European Union member states have reached an agreement on a new 21st package of sanctions against Russia, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, citing a European official.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision in a post on X.
According to von der Leyen, the package will include:
- a transaction ban for 32 more Russian banks;
- restrictions on cryptocurrency firms and oil-trading platforms;
- a one-year freeze on any review of the oil price cap;
- first-time sanctions against vessels helping Russia’s “shadow fleet”;
- a step toward a formal ban on entry into the EU for Russian combatants.
According to the EU diplomat cited in the report, the written procedure for approving the sanctions package is expected to begin later today. Technical work is still being finalized.
The 21st sanctions package against Russia
The European Union has been working on the 21st package of sanctions since May 2026. The measures under discussion have included restrictions on banks, religious figures, Russia’s shadow fleet and companies selling Ukrainian grain taken from temporarily occupied territories.
Among the countries that had hindered progress was Greece. One reason, according to previous reports, was concern in Athens about economic losses from a possible ban on the re-export of Russian liquefied gas.
The EU may also revive a proposal to ban maritime services for Russian vessels, a step that had previously been blocked by Greece and Malta.
EU officials had also planned to include in the new package sanctions previously blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. That included measures against members of the Russian Orthodox Church and its head, Patriarch Kirill, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Bulgaria opposed those sanctions, followed later by Italy.
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