© . FILE PHOTO: Chess pieces can be seen in front of the featured Russian and EU flags in this illustration, taken January 25, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo () – The European Union has imposed several sanctions on Russia for launching a ” unprecedented and unprovoked military attack on Ukraine,” with some measures the bloc has never implemented before and some considered taboo until Russia’s invasion. The measures come on top of sanctions already in place since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. According to the EU, the sanctions are intended “to cripple the Kremlin’s ability to fund the war, impose clear economic and political costs.” to the Russian political elite responsible for the invasion and reduce (Russia’s) economic base”. This is a list of the measures agreed so far: THE CENTRAL BANK OF RUSSIA The EU has frozen part of what it calls “Putin’s war chest” by banning its transactions and freezing all of its assets in the EU. This is intended to make it impossible for the central bank to liquidate its assets. SWIFT A certain number of Russian banks, representing 70% of the country’s banking market, will be cut off from SWIFT, the world’s dominant global payment system. The move is intended to damage their ability to operate globally, deter banks from conducting most of their financial transactions globally and effectively block Russia’s exports and imports. STATE-OWNED RUSSIAN MEDIA The EU plans to tackle the “Kremlin’s media machine” by banning state broadcaster Russia Today, Sputnik news agency and their subsidiaries. The move aims to ensure that they “will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow divisions in the Union”. AIRSPACE The EU has closed its airspace to Russia, preventing all Russian aircraft from taking off, landing or overflying the EU. The ban applies to all aircraft, whether owned by Russians, registered in Russia, or controlled by Russian individuals or companies — including private jets owned or chartered by oligarchs. WEAPONS For the first time in its history, the EU has agreed to use its funds to purchase and supply arms to Ukraine. 450 million euros is earmarked for the purchase of weapons, another 50 million euros is used to finance other necessities such as fuel or medical equipment. BELARUS The EU has agreed to impose further sanctions on Belarus, which it believes is complicit in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The bloc aims to stop Belarusian exports of mineral fuels, tobacco, timber, timber, cement, iron and steel. BLACKLISTINGS The EU has blacklisted hundreds of additional people, many of them members of the Russian parliament who voted to recognize the breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine. Their bank accounts in the EU are now frozen and they are not allowed to travel to the bloc. The most prominent individuals on the blacklist are Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, although they are exempt from the travel ban. This is intended to facilitate negotiations with them if the opportunity arises. Yet Putin is now one of only three world leaders to be blacklisted by the EU, along with Bashar al-Assad of Syria and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus. The blacklist currently contains a total of 654 individuals and 52 entities. ENERGY SECTOR The sanctions ban the export of specific refining technologies, making it more difficult and expensive for Russia to upgrade its oil refineries. They come on top of an existing ban on oil equipment that was imposed in 2014. According to the bloc, Russia earned 24 billion euros in 2019 from the export of refined oil to the EU. TRANSPORT SECTOR The EU has banned the export, sale, supply or transfer of all aircraft, aircraft parts and equipment to Russia, as well as all services related to the repair, maintenance and financing of aircraft. According to the EU, three quarters of Russia’s commercial aircraft fleet is built in the EU, the United States and Canada. The sanctions mean that “Russia will not be able to keep its fleet up to international standards,” the EU said. DOUBLE-USE GOODS AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY The EU has strengthened existing sanctions on goods that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, targeting the military-industrial complex of Russia and Belarus and their access to advanced technology such as drones and drone software has limited , encryption equipment software, semiconductors and advanced electronics. These measures aim to lower Russia’s technological capabilities over time. DIPLOMAT VISA Russian diplomat passport holders will no longer be able to travel to the EU visa-free, and Russian government officials and businessmen will no longer benefit from reduced visa application rates. This measure will not apply to Russian citizens in general, who will retain the benefits they now have. TRADE WITH EXTENSIVE REGIONS IN UKRAINE The EU has banned the importation of goods from breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, the conduct of business with tourism services there and the export of certain goods and technologies.
