The Council of the European Union approved a mini-package of sanctions against Russia on 15 June, simultaneously with ongoing work on the EU's broader 21st package of sanctions, Council of the European Union's official communiqué says.
The package includes a total of 34 individuals and 47 legal entities and is designed to further restrict Russia's military-industrial complex, reduce Russia's energy revenues by targeting its shadow fleet and curb the spread of Russian propaganda.
The decision imposes restrictive measures on seven individuals and 21 legal entities supporting Russia's military-industrial complex and its accomplices in third countries. The measures target several manufacturers and suppliers of drones and other military equipment for the Russian Armed Forces used in the war against Ukraine.
Restrictions were imposed, in particular, on the Lavochkin Research and Production Association, founded by Russian state corporation for space activities Roscosmos, as well as Chinese companies Shenzhen Minghuaxin and Xinxiang Richful Lubricant Additive Company. The restrictions also affected the ERA Military Innovation Technopolis and the Foundation for Advanced Studies, both set up by the Russian government to develop advanced unmanned technologies for military purposes.
The package provides for the listing of two individuals, Tahir Garayev and Konstantin Rogach, and 24 entities linked to the shipment and export of crude oil or petroleum products from Russia, including through Russia's shadow fleet. They include Lukoil-Western Siberia and numerous companies based in Russia, Liberia, Türkiye, United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and Hong Kong.
The new sanctions list also includes 10 individuals and one entity, among them several prominent Russian propagandists involved in foreign information manipulation and interference, like Anatoly Kuzichev, Kirill Fedorov, Roman Antonovsky and Maria Volkonskaya, the editor-in-chief of the state-controlled newspaper Krymskaya Gazeta. They are responsible for spreading disinformation aimed at justifying and legitimising Russia's war against Ukraine.
