The EU Council has adopted sanctions against 12 people and 2 organizations for hybrid threats from Russia, including information manipulation and cyberattacks.
This is stated in a statement by the press service of the Council of the EU.
Pro-Russian analysts, propagandists, and conspiracy theorists associated with the Kremlinʼs information apparatus were subject to restrictions.
The list included:
- US citizen, former Florida deputy sheriff — for supporting Russia on social media;
- Andriy Sushentsov, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations;
- Dmitry Suslov, Deputy Director of the Center for Comprehensive European and International Studies of the Russian Higher School of Economics;
- "International Russophile Movement";
- Director General of the Russian Council on International Affairs, Program Director of the Valdai Club Ivan Timofeev;
- 142nd Electronic Warfare Battalion of the Russian Armed Forces, involved in GPS failures in EU countries;
- propagandist Diana Panchenko.
The list also included members of GRU unit 29155 and the hacker group Cadet Blizzard, who carried out cyberattacks against Ukraine, EU and NATO states.
Diana Panchenko is a Ukrainian journalist who, before the full-scale Russian invasion, worked on pro-Russian TV channels associated with Viktor Medvedchuk. She was a political talk show host and publicly promoted narratives that were in line with the Kremlinʼs position.
After the start of Russiaʼs full-scale war against Ukraine, Panchenko left Ukraine and began to actively work in the information space in favor of the Russian Federation.
On October 12, 2023, SBU declared Panchenko the suspicion of high treason.
Separately, the EU Council adopted a new package of sanctions against nine people and four entities involved in supporting the Russian shadow fleet. The sanctions list includes businessmen associated with state oil companies “Rosneft” and “Lukoil”, which control vessels transporting Russian oil and petroleum products. The charges are related to concealing the origin of cargoes and using illegal and risky transportation methods.
Sanctions have also been imposed on shipping companies based in the UAE, Vietnam and Russia that own or operate tankers in the Russian shadow fleet.
All those involved are subject to an asset freeze, a ban on funding from EU citizens and companies, and a ban on entry into and transit through the European Union. In total, the EU sanctions regime in response to Russiaʼs war against Ukraine already covers more than 2,600 people and entities.
What is known about the Russian shadow fleet?
In early December 2022, the G7 members, as well as Australia and the EU, imposed price caps on Russian oil, setting a maximum price of $60 per barrel. From February 5, 2023, these countries imposed price caps on Russian petroleum products: $100 for diesel fuel, $45 for various lubricants.
To circumvent oil sanctions, Russia has begun building a shadow fleet. This is a fleet of old tankers that turn off their beacons so they cannot be seen by surveillance systems. They are operated mostly by the Russian state-owned company “Suchkomflot”.
According to The Guardian’s September 2023 estimates, Russia’s shadow fleet consists of approximately 600 vessels, providing 70% of Russia’s oil exports and almost 10% of the world’s “wet cargo” fleet. It transports an estimated 1.7 million barrels of oil per day, generating large profits for the Kremlin.
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