EU plans to impose new sanctions against Russia for anniversary of Ukraine war

The European Union is preparing to impose new sanctions ahead of the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new ‘blacklist’ is planned to be announced on February 24, marking the second anniversary of the full-scale invasion, reported by EUobserver. The upcoming sanctions list will encompass “several dozen” Russian and Belarusian military personnel implicated in combat operations against Ukraine. EU diplomats told the media, adding that “mini-sanctions” will be imposed on Russian individuals involved in the illegal deportation and abduction of Ukrainian children. The EU is intensifying measures against those associated with actions detrimental to Ukraine amid ongoing tensions in the region. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on a visit to Kyiv on February 2 that the European Union plans to slap Russia with fresh sanctions by the anniversary of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “We will introduce with our G7 partners an additional price cap on Russian petroleum products, and by the 24th of February — exactly one year since the invasion started — we aim to have the 10th package of sanctions in place,” von der Leyen said during a press conference with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky. Existing sanctions are “eroding” Russia’s economy, she said, and “throwing it back by a generation,” estimating that an existing oil price cap alone is costing Moscow around 160 million euros every day.