The EU Council adopts the 12th package of sanctions against Russia, including a ban on diamond imports

The EU Council today officially adopted the 12th package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia, including a ban on the import, purchase or transfer of diamonds from Russia. This was reported by UNN with reference to the press service of the EU Council. 

Today, the EU Council adopted the twelfth package of economic and individual restrictive measures in response to Russia's ongoing aggressive war against Ukraine. These measures deal a further blow to Putin's ability to wage war by targeting high value sectors of the Russian economy and making it harder to circumvent EU sanctions

Details

The agreed package includes, in particular, a ban on the import, purchase or transfer of Russian diamonds.

In addition, today's decision expands the list of prohibited goods that could contribute to the technological improvement of the Russian defense and security sector to include: chemicals, lithium batteries, thermostats, DC motors and servo motors for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), machine tools and parts of machinery and equipment.

The EU has also imposed additional restrictions on imports of goods that generate significant revenues for Russia and thus allow it to continue its aggressive war against Ukraine: cast iron and pig iron, copper wires, aluminum wires, foil, pipes and tubes worth 2.2 billion euros per year.

In addition, the EU Council added 29 new entities to the list of those directly supporting Russia's military-industrial complex in its aggressive war against Ukraine. Today's restrictions include a ban on Russian nationals from owning, controlling or holding any position in the governing bodies of legal entities, organizations or bodies.

The EU Council is also introducing stricter rules for compliance with the oil price ceiling.

Today's decision adds Switzerland to the list of partner countries applying a set of restrictive measures against imports of iron and steel from Russia.

The sanctions against Russia are expected to be published in the Official Journal of the EU shortly.