EU publishes sixth package of Russian sanctions in official journal

Moscow: The European Union published information about the sixth package of sanctions against Russia, which includes the oil embargo and the SWIFT ban of Sberbank, in its official journal on Friday.

The union updated its personal sanctions list, and it now includes retired Olympic gymnast Alina Kabaeva, who allegedly has personal ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Sputnik news agency reported. Moreover, the EU imposed sanctions against family members of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and co-founder of Yandex Arkady Volozh. The sanctions are also imposed against several Russian entities, including Ulyanovsk Automobile Plant (UAZ), vehicle developer KAMAZ and aircraft manufacturer Sukhoi.

This visit comes a day after the European Union officially approved the sixth package of sanctions against Moscow, including a gradual phase-out of Russian oil and desconnection of more Russian banks from SWIFT.
"In light of Russia's continuing war of aggression against Ukraine and Belarus' support to it, as well as the reported atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine, the Council decided today to impose a sixth package of economic and individual sanctions targeting both Russia and Belarus," the European Council said in a statement.

The new package includes a ban on "the purchase, import or transfer of crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia into the EU," with the phase-out of Russian oil set to take "from 6 months for crude oil to 8 months for other refined petroleum products."

"A temporary exception is foreseen for imports of crude oil by pipeline into those EU member states that, due to their geographic situation, suffer from a specific dependence on Russian supplies and have no viable alternative options. Moreover, Bulgaria and Croatia will also benefit from temporary derogations concerning the import of Russian seaborne crude oil and vacuum gas oil respectively," the statement said. (ANI)