EU’s 18th Package Hits Russia with the Strongest Economic Damage

The EU Commission welcomes the Council’s adoption of the 18th Russian sanctions package. This package targets five key areas: Russian energy revenues, finance, trade, sanctions evasion, and specific accountability for war-related abuse against Ukrainian children and cultural heritage. It intends to weaken Russia’s ability to wage war in Ukraine.

With this package, the EU has now blacklisted a total of 444 ships that are part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” and used for the secret transportation of goods and oil for sanction evasion.

The EU has also sanctioned over 2,500 people who were supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, including officials, military figures, propagandists, and business leaders.

This package also includes new sanctions targeting Belarus, which has been supplying weapons to help Russia in the war.

EU’s Updated Russian Sanction Package Has Expanded List in the Following Areas:

Energy Revenues

• The EU lowers the oil price cap from $60 to $47.60 per barrel, with an automatic mechanism ensuring it remains 15 % below the average price of Urals crude over the previous six months, resulting in both predictability for operators and downward pressure on Russian energy revenues.
• This package also highlights that the EU has banned the import of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude, even if they have been processed outside of Russia. This action aims to prevent Russian crude oil from reaching the EU market.
• EU operators are barred from dealings related to Nord Stream 1 (operational since 2011) and Nord Stream 2 (never activated due to geopolitical tensions), two major undersea gas pipelines that carry natural gas from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea.
• An additional 105 “shadow fleet” vessels are blacklisted, bringing the total to 444, which now face port restrictions and a ban on services. Asset freezes and travel bans also apply to associated companies worldwide.

Financial Sectors

• The EU has expanded restrictions that now cover 45 Russian banks and has prohibited all transactions. Following the new update, no EU operator can engage in any business with these financial institutions. This is an expansion of previous measures that were limited to restrictions on providing SWIFT services.
• This package also prohibits EU financial institutions from transacting with third-country or crypto entities that aid Russia’s sanctions evasion.
• It also cut off the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), its subsidiaries, and investments, as well as supporting firms, from EU markets.
• The EU has also banned additional tech exports to Russia, which amounted to almost €2.1 billion in 2024, to weaken its military-industrial power.

The Military-Industrial Complex

This package highlights the EU’s action against third countries that have been warned previously. It has added 26 entities to its sanction lists that provide direct or indirect support to the Russian military-industrial complex. These 26 entities include 15 from Russia, 11 from other third countries, including 4 from Türkiye and 7 from China/Hong Kong.

In addition, this package has banned 55 additional entities linked to Russia’s war machine and Belarusian military, including suppliers in China and Turkey.

The package lists individuals involved in the Russian “military education” of Ukrainian children, raising the total to over 80. It also enlists several Russian proxies responsible for the misappropriation of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
The European Commission also highlights that the new legal mechanisms enable EU countries to regain damages if sanctioned individuals utilize investment-state dispute settlement (ISDS) processes against sanctions.

This is considered “one of the strongest packages,” as High Representative Kaja Kallas stated:
“The EU just approved one of its strongest sanctions packages against Russia to date. Each sanction weakens Russia’s ability to wage war. The message is clear: Europe will not back down in its support for Ukraine. The EU will keep raising the pressure until Russia ends its war.”
Commissioner Maria Luís Albuquerque also said the measures “attack the heart of Russia’s war machine,” warning that the pressure would continue as long as the war does.