the European Union officially adopts a new package of sanctions against Russia

The European Union adopted a twelfth package of sanctions against Russia on Monday, December 18. EU countries had already approved this new package of sanctions on Friday, on the sidelines of a European summit, but it could not be formally adopted, due to a reservation from Austria, which has now been lifted.

This package of sanctions includes in particular the ban on imports of Russian diamonds into the EU. The ban will cover natural or synthetic diamonds and jewelry from January, and Russian diamonds cut in other countries from September 2024. This is the twelfth package of sanctions since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. “We continue to support Ukraine through thick and thin”said on this occasion on X (ex-Twitter) the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed their adoption, saying that Russia must “feeling that the pressure of the free world is increasing, as is the cost of its aggression”. Moscow is accused of financing part of its war against Ukraine through the lucrative diamond trade, which represents a turnover of around four to five billion dollars per year.

Concerning technologies that could be used by the Russian army, the EU has decided to add 29 new entities to the list of those accused of supporting the Russian war effort. They are all subject to restrictions on their exports of products likely to strengthen Russia’s arms industry. Some of these entities, involved in circumventing sanctions, come from third countries, Singapore and Uzbekistan in particular, according to a press release from the European Commission.