The European Union has agreed the biggest expansion of its Russia sanctions list since the start of the full-scale war. On 7 October, EU ambassadors approved the addition of 1,646 individuals and entities. Foreign ministers still must adopt the list formally at a meeting in Luxembourg on 12 October.
The agreement covers 743 people and 826 organisations that Brussels links to support the war, the supply of military technology and the financing of the defence sector. A further 77 people who stood in September’s State Duma elections in occupied Ukrainian territory are listed separately. Kyiv and the EU do not recognise that vote.
According to diplomats, more than half of the new entries sit in the ballistic-missile production chain, including work on the 9M723 missile of the Iskander-M system, solid fuels, rocket engines, testing and research, as well as suppliers of specialised textiles and carbon fibre. The list also includes shipyards, aviation firms, electronics makers and repair plants in the defence industry. Seven individuals and entities linked to North Korea were agreed separately on the grounds that the EU ties them to missile supplies for Russia.
Once the measures are published in the EU Official Journal, those listed face travel bans, assets freeze and a ban on making funds available to them. Names will be made public only after formal adoption. The overall war-related sanctions list will rise to nearly 4,650 entries.
