EC proposes ninth package of sanctions against Russia

The European Commission (EC) announced on December 7 its proposals for a ninth package of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine, with the proposed measures including lengthening the list of individuals and entities subject to sanctions, new export controls and restrictions, and taking four more Russian propaganda channels off air.

“Russia continues to bring death and devastation to Ukraine. It is deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, seeking to paralyse the country at the beginning of the winter,” EC President Ursula von der Leyen said, announcing the proposed ninth sanctions package.

“The eight packages of sanctions we introduced so far are already biting hard,” Von der Leyen said.

The EC is proposing to add almost 200 additional individuals and entities to the sanctions list.

This includes the Russian armed forces, as well as individual officers and defence industrial companies, members of the State Duma and Federation Council, ministers, governors and political parties, among others.

“This list covers key figures in Russia’s brutal and deliberate missile strikes against civilians, in the kidnapping  of Ukrainian children to Russia, and in the theft of Ukrainian agricultural products,” Von der Leyen said.

The EC is proposing to introduce sanctions against three additional Russian banks, including a full transaction ban on the Russian Regional Development Bank to further paralyse Putin’s cash machines.

The Commission wants the imposition of new export controls and restrictions, particularly for dual-use goods. This includes key chemicals, nerve agents, electronics and IT components that could be used by the Russian war machine.

Fourth, the EC wants to cut Russia’s access to all sorts of drones and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“We propose to ban the direct exports of drone engines to Russia and the export to any third countries, such as Iran, which could supply drones to Russia,” Von der Leyen said.

“We will also target the Russian propaganda machine by taking four additional channels off the air and all other distribution platforms,” she said.

The EC is also proposing further economic measures against the Russian energy and mining sector, including a ban on new mining investments in Russia.

This package comes on top of the full EU import ban on Russian seaborne oil that came into force this week, as well as the global oil price cap agreed between the G7, Von der Leyen said.

“The international cooperation against Russia’s war has never been stronger,” she said.

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