On February 24, 2025, to mark the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Council of the European Union adopted Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/389 to add 48 individuals and 35 entities to the sanctions list – individuals and entities that have facilitated Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The designees include Igor Gennadievich Kudryashkin and Eduard Aleksandrovich Chukhlebov, two businessmen who operate in in Russia’s mining and energy sectors, certain politicians and proxies in non-government controlled areas of Ukraine and individuals responsible for the movement of Ukrainian children from occupied territories of Ukraine.
The Council also adopted Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 to issue the 16th package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia and those that continue to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions package targeted Russia’s shadow fleet by including two new criteria that enable EU authorities to sanction members of the shadow fleet and its enablers, which provide Russia with substantial revenues that it uses to finance the war in Ukraine. The Council also banned the provision of temporary storage for Russian crude oil and petroleum products within the European Union, which is independent from the purchase price of the oil and final destination of these products.
The sanctions package also targeted those responsible for circumventing EU sanctions as well as third countries that directly support Russia’s war against Ukraine, including China, India, Singapore, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates, that have helped Russia circumvent EU trade restrictions or procure sensitive items for military operations in Ukraine. The new package contains a variety of new trade restrictions, including the expansion of the list of restricted items that contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defense and security sectors. This list will include, among other things, chemical precursors that can be used for riot control agents and controllers used to guide unmanned aerial vehicles (“UAVs”). Further restrictions on goods and technology will extend to software related to oil and gas exploration. The new sanctions package will also prohibit transactions with certain ports, locks and airports in Russia that have been used to circumvent EU sanctions and specifically targets Russia’s aviation sector by expanding the scope of the EU flight ban to include air carriers that operate domestic flights within Russia.
The new sanctions package also targeted Russian propagandists by suspending the EU broadcasting licenses of eight Russian media outlets, including NewsFront and SouthFront, two outlets that spread a distorted interpretation of history and pro-Kremlin messages in an effort to garner support for the war.
On February 24, 2025, the European Union also adopted Council Regulation (EU) 2025/392 to extend the Belarus sanctions regime for an additional year, until February 28, 2026. The Council also expanded restrictive measures to include the ability to sanction individuals and entities that support or benefit from Belarus’ military and industrial complex. The Council also imposed additional trade-related restrictions on Belarus that mirror the sanctions currently in place against Russia.
Council of the EU Press Release I | Council of the EU Press Release II | Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/389 | Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/394 | Belarus – Council Regulation (EU) 2025/392