On July 18, 2025, the European Council announced the adoption the 18th package of sanctions against Russia. The Council stated that the measures aim to “hit hard on Russia’s energy, banking and military sectors, as well as trade with the EU, and ensure accountability for Russia’s continued war of aggression against Ukraine.”
The new package of EU sanctions:
- Adjusts the oil price cap;
- Designates an additional 105 vessels to a list of port bans and service restrictions for being part of Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’;
- Introduces an “import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country,” excepting Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States, to block Russia’s crude oil from a back door to the EU market;
- Bans all transactions related to the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines;
- Adds to sanctions lists entities that contribute to the Russian military industrial complex, from countries including China, Belarus, China and Hong Kong, as well as Türkiye;
- Implements additional export bans for computer numerical control (CNC) machines and constituent chemicals for propellants;
- Expands “the existing transit ban via the territory of Russia … to cover selected economically critical goods used for construction and transport”;
- Further restricts the Russian banking sector, including targeting an additional 22 Russian banks for sanctions.
The new package of EU sanctions also includes additional sanctions on Belarus.
Read the full EU press release here: https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/07/18/russia-s-war-of-aggression-against-ukraine-eu-adopts-18th-package-of-economic-and-individual-measures/
