The European Union has approved the 18th sanctions package in response to the ongoing aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. This set of measures is considered one of the toughest ever, emphasized EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
This is reported by Business • Media
Restrictions on Energy, Finance, and Russia’s Military-Industrial Complex
According to the new sanctions, the EU has significantly increased pressure on the Kremlin’s military budget by expanding the list of restricted assets. An additional 105 vessels from Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” used to circumvent international restrictions on oil transportation have been sanctioned.
An important step has been the reduction of the price cap on Russian oil from $60 to $47.6 per barrel. A ban has also been introduced on the use of the “Nord Stream” pipelines, along with restrictions against Russia’s largest oil refinery, Rosneft, in India.
Sanctions List and International Reaction
As part of the 18th package, 22 Russian and two Chinese banks, four companies linked to the Russian Direct Investment Fund, and 26 new entities related to Russia’s military-industrial complex have been sanctioned by the EU. The restrictions also affected eight Belarusian defense enterprises. As of July 2025, over 2,500 individuals and legal entities are on the EU sanctions list.
“One of the toughest sanctions packages against Russia ever.”
Following the EU’s decision to lower the price cap on Russian oil, a similar move was made by the United Kingdom. In the future, the price of Russian oil will be determined by the formula: global price minus 15%.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promptly synchronize Ukrainian sanctions with the new European restrictions against Russia.