Russia reacted negatively to the next, 20th package of sanctions decided by representatives of EU countries last week. They include, among others: 120 new entries on the sanctions list – both people, institutions and companies. Most of them concern the energy sector, as well as ships suspected of belonging to the Russian shadow fleet. “We must maintain this pressure until Putin understands that he has nothing to gain from this war.” – emphasized Kaja Kallas, President of the Foreign Affairs Council, in the EU announcement.
“Such actions by Brussels, bypassing the UN Security Council, grossly violate the norms of international law.” — wrote the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement published on Monday, April 27.
See also: A key EU decision on Russia and Ukraine. Huge sums in the background
Russia expands “blacklist” for Europe
The next package of sanctions is intended to further weaken the Russian economy and war machine. It is aimed primarily at the energy sector and is intended to be the basis for a future ban on the provision of maritime services in relation to Russian crude oil and Russian petroleum products. The sanctions list includes 36 energy-related entities, as well as 46 ships from the shadow fleet. The EU also introduced a ban on transactions with 20 Russian banks and other additional restrictions on the Russian economy.
See also: The West is making a fundamental mistake. It is not sanctions but elites that can overthrow Putin's regime [OPINIA]
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the sanctions with its decisions against EU countries. In a statement, he announced the expansion of the list of representatives of European institutions, EU member states and several other countries banned from entering Russia. Restrictive measures were also introduced against civil society activists and representatives of the academic community of European countries and members of national parliaments of EU Member States. The ministry described these provisions as a response to “unlawful EU decisions”.
“The destructive policy of Brussels is unable to have any influence on the foreign policy of our country,” the Russian ministry emphasizes in a statement.
