Moscow has imposed entry bans on European officials and entities involved in military aid to Kiev, the Foreign Ministry has said
Russia has imposed entry bans on a number of EU officials in response to the bloc’s 17th and 18th packages of sanctions, targeting individuals and entities deemed responsible for providing military aid to Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Western governments have unleashed an unprecedented wave of sanctions against Moscow since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022. Last week, the EU introduced its 18th package, focusing on Russia’s energy and banking sectors.
In reaction to these “unfriendly actions,” Russia has significantly expanded the list of individuals barred from entering the country, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The blacklist now includes representatives of EU institutions, officials from member states, and individuals from other European countries “aligning themselves with Brussels’ anti-Russian policies,” the ministry added.
The entry ban targets European security officials, Ukraine supporters, and those allegedly undermining Russia’s territorial integrity or blockading its ships in the Baltic Sea, the ministry said. It also includes activists and politicians, though no names were disclosed.
The latest EU sanctions prohibit transactions with 22 additional Russian banks and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and prohibit use of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines.
The measures also extend to seven UAE-based firms accused of facilitating Russian oil exports through trading or ship management services. India’s Nayara Energy, an oil refinery partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft, was among those listed, along with two Chinese banks and five Chinese companies.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told France Inter radio on Tuesday that Paris has begun preparing a new EU sanctions package aimed at pressuring President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire in Ukraine.
Barrot said he has instructed his team to prepare a “heavier” set of sanctions in coordination with the US.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the sanctions as a “double-edged sword,” warning that “each new package adds a negative effect for the countries joining it.” He added that Russia has developed “a certain immunity” to the “illegal” Western sanctions.
