The Irish Presidency of the Council of the EU announced that this morning an agreement was reached on a new extension of sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine. The agreement was reached at a meeting of EU member states in Brussels and is expected to be finalized by the end of the day by written procedure.
The sanctions affect Russia's revenues, the so-called shadow fleet for fuel trade in circumvention of European sanctions, as well as supply chains, the Presidency notes. It added that this is an important step, achieved in the first weeks after Ireland took over the presidency of the EU Council, and is an expression of European support for Ukraine.
European Council President Antonio Costa wrote on social media that this is a decisive step and the EU maintains its support for Ukraine in achieving a just and lasting peace.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen specified in a post on social media that the new sanctions will affect another 32 Russian banks, cryptocurrency and oil trading platforms, will extend the ceiling on the price of Russian oil for another year and are a step towards introducing a ban on access to the EU for the Russian military.