The European Union announced a fresh package of sanctions against Russia on February 23, on the eve of the second anniversary of its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
"Today, we are further tightening the restrictive measures against Russia's military and defense sector," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a press release.
“We remain united in our determination to dent Russia’s war machine and help Ukraine win its legitimate fight for self-defense.”
The 13th Ukraine-related sanctions package targets Russia's defense industry and slaps assets freezes and travel bans on 106 individuals and 88 organizations, bringing to 2,000 the total number of people and groups sanctioned by the 27-member bloc for "undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty, and independence of Ukraine."
The newly sanctioned individuals include dozens of Russian officials including "members of the judiciary, local politicians and people responsible for the illegal deportation and military re-education of Ukrainian children," the statement said.
They also impose restrictions on companies from India, Sri Lanka, China, Serbia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, and Turkey suspected of exporting to Russia dual-use products for "supporting Russia's military and industrial complex."
The restrictions also expand on components for the development and production of aerial drones.
The names of the companies will be published in the EU’s official journal in several days.
In response to the EU move, the Russia Foreign Ministry announced on February 23 that it had drastically expanded a list of the bloc's officials and politicians banned from entering Russia.
"The European Union is continuing its fruitless attempts to put pressure on Russia through unilateral restrictive measures," the ministry said in a statement.
While the bloc's 27 members agreed on the sanctions package, a statement to mark February 24 ran aground when Hungary refused to sign on, EU sources told RFE/RL. Budapest objected to the statement without offering a concrete explanation, the sources said.
In the end, the EU issued a statement on February 23 signed by the presidents of the three main European institutions -- EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, European Parliament chief Roberta Metsola, and European Council President Charles Michel -- instead of the entire bloc.
"Russia and its leadership bear sole responsibility for this war and its global consequences, as well as for the serious crimes committed. We remain determined to hold them to account, including for the crime of aggression," the statement reads.
"Russia and its leaders will pay a growing price for their actions. Together with partners, we have imposed unprecedented sanctions against Russia and those complicit in the war and remain ready to increase the pressure on Russia to limit its ability to wage war. We have also taken the first concrete steps towards directing extraordinary revenues stemming from Russian immobilized assets to support Ukraine. We will continue our targeted actions to further isolate Russia in international fora."
