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...
European Commission has proposed dropping unanimity on sanctions and on some EU enlargement decisions
The Commission published a package of documents on preparing the Union for future enlargement and is proposing a shift from unanimous voting to qualified majority voting on sanctions, the opening of negotiating clusters and intermediate decisions in accession talks. The package, “Preparing for a wider Union,” was adopted on Tuesday....
UK imposes a new package of sanctions against Russia
The UK Foreign Office announced a new package of sanctions against Russia on 1 October. It covers 23 individuals and entities and eight vessels. According to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the package is aimed at restricting funding for the war, putting pressure on networks that London describes as...
Closing the “Russian House” did not dismantle Russia’s influence system in Germany
Russia uses the network of “Russian Houses,” which operate under the state agency Rossotrudnichestvo, not only to promote the language and culture but also to work with compatriots, shape a loyal information environment, and preserve political and social influence in the countries where it is present. Rossotrudnichestvo itself has been...
EU Council sanctions former head of RT’s French branch
The Council of the European Union has added Ksenia Fedorova, former head of the French division of the Russian state television channel RT (Russia Today), to its sanctions list. The restrictive measures were imposed over her involvement in Russian hybrid activity and the dissemination of pro-Kremlin narratives. The decision was...
EU extends personal sanctions against Russia until 2029
The Council of the European Union on 22 September 2026 extended individual restrictive measures targeting people and entities that Brussels holds responsible for undermining Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The sanctions will remain in force until 22 September 2029 — the first time they have been prolonged for 36 months rather than...
The Graham Act and U.S. sanctions that could hit Europe
On September 16, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed, by a vote of 262 to 159, a bipartisan measure officially titled the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 (H.R. 5334 / S. 5025). A month earlier, on August 7, 2026, the Senate approved the bill...
What France’s ultimatum over Usmanov means for EU policy
In mid-September 2026, the European Union came close to a serious breakdown in one of its main instruments of pressure on Russia. Personal sanctions against roughly 2,500–3,000 Russian individuals and companies, imposed after the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, were due to be renewed on 15 September. Instead,...
Raiffeisen shares plunge more than 8% after sanctions-evasion allegations
Shares of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) fell more than 8% in Thursday trading in Vienna on September 17. At one point the drop reached nearly 9%. By midday the stock was trading around €59.6–€59.8. The sell-off followed a report published by U.S. investment fund Grizzly Research. The fund said...
France’s Foreign Ministry refuses to name partners seeking to lift sanctions on Usmanov
The French Foreign Ministry has declined to name the international partners pressing for Alisher Usmanov’s removal from the EU sanctions list and has not explained the “national security considerations” it cited earlier. Paris has confirmed that it supports taking the Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov off the European Union’s sanctions list,...