A package of European Union sanctions targeting Russian oil, banks and military officials goes into effect.
A sixth round of European Union sanctions targeting Russian oil, banks and military officials went into effect on Friday.
Sanctions against the Kremlin for invading Ukraine came into force after protracted, protracted negotiations to convince Hungary and other landlocked EU countries to agree to a partial ban on Russian oil.
The parcel targets Russian oil delivered by sea and exempts oil from pipelines such as the giant Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline, which connects Russia with several Eastern and Central European countries.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter that the package was “a major blow to Putin’s war chest”, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Banning 90% of Russia’s oil imports deals a major blow to Putin’s war chest.
Patriarch Kyrill’s retreat shows the limits of consensus-based foreign policy.
Religious leaders should not be shielded from the responsibility of supporting Putin’s war.
– Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 3, 2022
The oil exploration ban was secured after Hungary and other landlocked nations vigorously lobbied against the EU’s proposed total oil embargo on Russian oil for nearly a month.
The European Union will first eliminate imports of Russian crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year to cut off the Kremlin’s main source of revenue.
According to the European Commission, the ban targets two-thirds of Russia’s oil imports, rising to 90 percent if Germany and Poland complete the elimination of all Russian oil by the end of the year.
Hungary is also exempt from importing Russian oil from other sources if the Druzhba stream, which flows through war-torn Ukraine, is damaged. The Czech Republic also has more time to implement the ban.
Other measures related to oil sanctions include a ban on EU companies from providing insurance for Russian oil shipments to prevent sanctions evasion with non-EU countries.
‘The limits of foreign policy’
The bloc has also banned EU companies from providing professional services to Russia, including public relations services such as lobbying.
Other measures against Russia related to the expansion of technology export restrictions include chemical production due to the risk of developing chemical weapons.
Hungary has also succeeded in pressuring the EU to lift sanctions on The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill within the latest sanctions.
Hungary pushed at the last minute to exempt Kirill, a staunch supporter of Putin, on Wednesday, after EU leaders reached a political agreement on the package earlier this week at a conference. special summit.
Borrell said on Twitter the patriarchal removal showed “the limits of consensus-based foreign policy”, a criticism of a sanctions policy that requires the full consent of all member states. EU member.
However, Alina Kabaeva, chairwoman of the board of directors of Russia’s State Media Corporation and a former gymnast “closely connected with” Putin, according to the EU, is on the sanctions list.
Russian Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev was also targeted because of the shelling the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.
Kabaeva and Mizintsev joined 65 new individuals and 18 entities with an EU asset freeze and travel ban from the bloc. In total, the EU has sanctioned 1,158 individuals and 98 organizations related to Russia Invasion of Ukraine.
The sanctions package also expelled Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank, from SWIFT, an international financial communications system, banned three more Russian state-owned television stations, and sanctioned the individuals responsible. about war crimes in Ukraine.
The previous five rounds of sanctions have targeted Russia’s economy, financial system, central bank, top government officials, as well as Putin and his inner circle.
