Council of EU approves 1-year extension of anti-Russian economic sanctions

BRUSSELS. June 25 (Interfax) - The Council of the European Union on Thursday extended the EU restrictive measures for 12 more months, i.e. until July 31, 2027, over the "Russian Federation's continuing actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine."

The decision followed a political agreement reached at the European Council summit on June 18-19, 2026, where EU leaders agreed to extend the anti-Russian economic sanctions by a year.

Those measures, first imposed in 2014, were considerably expanded in February 2022. They apply to key sectors, including trade, finance, energy and dual-use technologies. They include a ban on EU import or transshipment of crude oil and certain petroleum products on marine routes from Russia, a ban on transactions with a number of financial institutions and cryptoservice providers in Russia and third countries, and a suspension of EU broadcasting and licenses for a number of Russian news channels.

"Additionally, specific measures enable the EU to counter sanctions circumvention. The EU will keep the current measures in place and stands ready to take additional measures," the Council of the EU said in a statement.