The Council of the European Union agreed to extend sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities for another three years, according to a Council press release. The restrictions will remain in force until 22 September 2029 — previously such lists were reviewed every six months.
The existing sanctions cover more than 3,000 individuals and legal entities that Brussels considers involved in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The measures include a ban on travel to EU countries, the freezing of assets and a ban on providing funds or other economic resources.
At the same time, the Council "adopted a decision not to renew sanctions against three individuals and one organization." According to documents published in the EU's official journal, removed from the list were USM Holdings founder Alisher Usmanov, Alfa Group co-founder Mikhail Fridman, former rector of the Vernadsky Crimean Federal University Andrei Falaleev, and Redbird Corporate Services Ltd, which had been linked to one of the vessels of the "shadow fleet." Three other deceased individuals were also removed from the list.
The Guardian, Euronews and Reuters previously reported that EU countries were discussing removing Fridman and Usmanov from sanctions. According to media reports, France and Slovakia requested Usmanov's exclusion, and Luxembourg requested Fridman's. Latvia opposed it.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said the country did not support the draft decision prepared by Ireland, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU. According to him, extending sanctions for 36 months is the right step, but the price should not be the exclusion of two people from the list. Kulbergs noted that extending sanctions requires the consent of all 27 EU member states: if an agreement is not reached before the deadline, the retention of sanctions against the entire list would be at risk.
An Irish representative, speaking to The Guardian, called the three-year extension of sanctions the result of a "difficult compromise" and said such a decision increases the reliability and predictability of the EU's sanctions system. According to The Guardian, Latvia ultimately decided to abstain from the vote on excluding Usmanov and Fridman. Ukrainska Pravda claims the exclusion from the list is linked to a won court case.