EU expected to approve major new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday

EU envoys are expected to approve around 1,650 new designations on Wednesday under the bloc’s Russia sanctions regime, with most of them focused on the country’s military-industrial complex.

The package, proposed by the EU’s foreign policy arm, the EEAS, will be the largest set of designations since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Once approved by the ambassadors, the listings will be sent to EU foreign ministers next Monday for final approval.

Around 1,570 of the new listings are entities and individuals involved in Russia’s military-industrial complex, with more than half of them focused on missile production.

Currently, the EU has slightly more than 3,000 designations in its main Russia sanctions regulation, which includes EU travel and transaction bans, as well as asset freezes.

The other new listings are Russia-related, but under different frameworks, including some under the EU’s restrictions on North Korea.

The EU’s latest combined package – the 21st – was approved in July.