EU extends Russia sanctions after last-minute deal

EU member states have agreed to extend sanctions against Russia after weeks of difficult talks, just hours before the deadline.

The measures target around 2,600 people and organisations and will remain in place until 15 September, the Council of the European Union confirmed on Saturday. The sanctions include travel bans, asset freezes and other restrictions introduced in response to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman will remain on the EU sanctions list. Slovakia had pushed to remove them and warned it might block the renewal of the entire sanctions regime. Hungary supported the request but eventually dropped its own demands and did not join a veto.

EU diplomats said Slovakia backed down after becoming isolated in negotiations.

Seven individuals were removed from the sanctions list. One of them is Dutch oil trader Niels Troost, who had been sanctioned in 2024 for trading Russian oil above the EU’s price cap. EU legal advisers said the case against him and another individual was considered weak.

Five others were removed because they had died.

Despite the agreement on renewing sanctions, tensions remain within the EU. Hungary is still blocking a key legal text that would allow €90 billion EU loan to Ukraine and is also holding up a new sanctions package against Russia.

EU leaders are expected to discuss the issue again at a summit in Brussels on 19 March.

^{© Nicolas TUCAT / AFP}