The EU has agreed its 19th set of sanctions against Russia, including its first-ever measures targeting Russian liquefied natural gas.
The package, which also targets shadow fleet vessels that Russia uses to evade an oil price cap, was formally approved as EU leaders arrived in Brussels for talks on supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
Announcing the adoption of the measures on X, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said: “For the first time we are hitting Russia’s gas sector – the heart of its war economy. We will not relent until the people of Ukraine have a just and lasting peace.”
The EU has agreed to a phased ban of Russian liquefied natural gas imports, with the goal of stopping all trade in Russian shipped gas by January 1st 2027. Europe bought a record amount of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) in 2024, after pipeline gas supplies plummeted, a trade that benefited Russia and undermined the EU’s support for Ukraine.
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The EU added 117 shadow fleet vessels to its sanctions list, meaning 558 boats suspected of illegal shipments of Russian oil are unable to access EU ports or insurance services.
Russia is estimated to have 600 to 1,400 unregulated tankers in its “shadow fleet”, ageing vessels under opaque ownership structures, which are used to ship oil at prices exceeding the western price cap to countries such as China and India. The G7 imposed a price cap on Russian oil in December 2022 to squeeze Russian revenues being used to fund the invasion. Ukraine’s European allies reduced the price cap further in September.
In another move, Russian diplomats based in the EU will no longer be able to freely travel throughout the bloc and must notify national authorities of their intention to travel to another EU member state.
Denmark’s foreign minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, said the ban on LNG imports was an important step towards completely phasing out Russian energy in the EU. “The sanctions have real impact and are hurting the Russian economy. Russia is finding it increasingly difficult to finance its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine.”
Approval came after Slovakia lifted its veto and Washington imposed sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, the first US measures against Vladimir Putin’s war machine since Donald Trump returned to the White House in January.
In a possible sign of warmer relations between Brussels and the Trump administration, Ms von der Leyen said she appreciated a call with the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, about the US sanctions. “This is a clear signal from both sides,” she wrote once it was clear the EU measures would also be approved.
EU leaders will offer a show of support to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who will join the summit on Thursday, after a rocky week that included a tense meeting with Trump who reportedly sought to browbeat Ukraine’s leader into giving up territory.
A plan to approve a multi-billion-euro loan for Ukraine secured on Russia’s frozen assets in the EU remains has been held up over Belgium’s concerns. Belgium hosts €183 billion of frozen Russian assets at Euroclear, a central securities depository in Brussels, but is worried about a plan to lend Ukraine €140 billion based on these funds.
Arriving at the summit on Thursday, Belgium’s prime minister, Bart De Wever, said he would oppose the plan without relevant guarantees. “I have not even seen the legal basis for the decision yet,” Mr De Wever told reporters. “Even during the second World War immobilised assets were never touched. So this is a very important step.” – Guardian
