Brussels, Oct 12 (IANS) European Union (EU) foreign ministers on Monday adopted nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings targeting Russia’s military-industrial complex, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
In a post on social media platform X, Kallas said more than half of the new listings were linked to the production chain for ballistic missiles, adding that it was the largest single expansion of the bloc’s sanctions list since the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The measures are aimed at making it significantly harder, slower and more expensive for Russia to produce weapons used against Ukraine, she said.
Speaking ahead of the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, Kallas said the new listings would also address what she described as “sham elections in Russia regarding the occupied territories of Ukraine.”
Kallas reiterated the EU’s position that continued pressure on Russia was necessary to end the conflict.
She also called for greater coordination with the United States on sanctions against Russia, saying that such alignment would strengthen pressure on Moscow.
Last month, the EU extended Ukraine-related sanctions against more than 3,000 individuals and entities for another three years. Three individuals and one entity were removed from the list.
The restrictive measures will remain in place until Sept. 22, 2029, the Council of the EU said in a statement.
The measures include travel restrictions on listed individuals, asset freezes, and a ban on making funds or other economic resources available to those targeted.
The sanctions were first introduced in March 2014 and have been significantly expanded since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine crisis in February 2022.
The EU has since imposed a series of sanctions against Russia, covering sectors including energy, finance, trade and technology, alongside measures targeting individuals and entities.
–IANS
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