The European Council of the European Union (EU) has approved its 18th package of sanctions, mainly targeting Russian oil revenues and sanctions evasion schemes.
This is what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) writes, quoted by news.bg.
The EU has announced an important ceiling for Russian oil prices, which will be automatically adjusted every six months. The current price ceiling is set at $47.60 per barrel - well below the previous ceiling of $60.
The EU has imposed a complete ban on any transactions related to the "Nord Stream" 1 and 2 pipelines, which will prevent their operation. It also ended exemptions for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil.
The EU has sanctioned another 105 ships from the Russian covert fleet, bringing the total number of tankers sanctioned to 444. The EU has sanctioned Russian and international companies operating the covert fleet, an oil refinery in India in which Russian state oil company Rosneft is a major shareholder, the captain of a covert fleet vessel, a private operator of an international flag registry, and a company in the Russian liquefied natural gas sector. The EU has also imposed a ban on imports of refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and imported from any third country except Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the UK and the US.
The Russian government has reportedly reported some reduction in oil and gas revenues as part of Russia's upcoming national budget. Although the EU sanctions against the oil ceiling and the hidden fleet are likely to further reduce Russia’s oil revenues beyond the Kremlin’s initial expectations.
The EU noted that oil revenues account for a third of Russia’s total revenues and that the recent decline in Russia’s oil revenues, combined with the reduction in the potential for market profits, poses a risk to the Russian federal budget.
The new EU sanctions package also targets actors who directly support the Kremlin militarily. The EU sanctioned three China-based organizations and eight companies operating in Belarus that sell goods to the Russian military.
The EU also imposed a complete ban on transactions of specialized financial messaging services to Belarus and an embargo on arms imports from Belarus. The EU tightened export restrictions on 26 entities dealing with dual-use goods and technologies, including 11 entities in third countries other than Russia.
The EU approved other export bans worth over €2.5 billion on items that could support Russia's military efforts, including digital control machines and fuel chemicals. The EU also sanctioned several individuals involved in the indoctrination of Ukrainian children, crimes in occupied Ukraine and the dissemination of Russian propaganda.
Russian authorities continued to falsely claim that the sanctions had no impact on the Russian economy in response to the new EU sanctions package. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the new EU sanctions package was illegal and that Russia had already adapted to life under restrictive measures and would minimize them.
Peskov added that any new sanctions package was disadvantageous for those who approved it. Russia's Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev responded to the latest EU sanctions, saying the package would not change Russia's position and that the Russian economy would survive, while Russia would continue to fight Ukrainian forces.
Medvedev threatened to attack Kiev and other Ukrainian cities with increasing force in response to the EU sanctions package. Medvedev said Russia must learn to "hate" the EU and its "Russophobia" as much as Russia's ancestors did, and that "it is known how this will end for Europe".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council on July 18.
Umerov will oversee the coordination of arms supplies, joint production efforts and defense partnerships, as well as advance negotiations with Russia.
The Kremlin continues to refine its long-term censorship efforts to establish greater control over Russia's online information space. The first deputy chairman of the Russian State Duma's Information Policy Committee, Anton Gorelkin, warned on July 18 that the popular messenger WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market, as it is "very likely" to fall under restrictive measures.