Shadow fleet, ports and crypto platforms. The EU revealed the details of the 20th package of sanctions against Russia

The Council of the European Union has revealed details of a new, 20th package of sanctions against Russia, which was approved on April 23. It became the most extensive in the last two years and covered the following areas of the Russian economy:

Energy and the shadow fleet

The new package lays the groundwork for a future ban on the shipping of Russian crude oil and petroleum products, agreed by the G7. The sanctions target 36 energy sector entities and 46 shadow fleet vessels, which are now banned from EU ports. In total, 632 such tankers are now under sanctions.

The European Union has also imposed restrictions on servicing Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers and icebreakers. And from the beginning of 2027, Russian companies will be banned from using LNG terminals in the EU.

Two Russian ports — Murmansk and Tuapse — and the Karimun oil terminal in Indonesia, which helped circumvent restrictions on Russian oil, were also hit by new sanctions.

Finances

The package includes a complete ban on transactions with 20 Russian banks, as well as with 4 financial institutions in third countries. The sanctions include Russian-registered crypto platforms that allow the transfer and exchange of crypto assets, as well as the Kyrgyz exchange where the state-owned stablecoin A7A5 is traded.

The EU also prohibits transactions in another cryptocurrency (RUBx) and any support for the development of a digital ruble.

Military-industrial complex

The restrictions now include 58 companies and people related to the production of weapons, including drones, as well as 16 companies from China, the UAE, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Belarus that helped the Russian military-industrial complex obtain high-tech goods.

Trade

New bans on the export of technologies and goods (over €360 million) and the import of Russian raw materials (over €570 million). For the first time, a tool to combat the circumvention of sanctions was used — the export of software-controlled machine tools and radio receivers to Kyrgyzstan was banned due to the risk of their re-export to the Russian Federation. A quota was also introduced for the import of ammonia.

Companies and people

The list added 60 companies (32 Russian and 28 from third countries) and 120 sanctions against oligarchs, military companies, propagandists, and individuals involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children and the looting of cultural heritage.

The restrictions also include a ban on mirror sites of Russia Today, Sputnik and other propagandists, as well as funding of research in the EU by the Russian government. Some of the new Russian sanctions have been extended to Belarus, in particular in the areas of trade, cybersecurity and cryptocurrencies. The EU Council extended the sanctions regime against Belarus until February 28, 2027.

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