EU Extends Russia Sanctions – and Removes Two Oligarchs

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The EU has extended its sanctions against Russia by three years – at the same time, two oligarchs are being removed from the list. The economic pressure on Moscow remains fundamentally in place, but is being loosened in two spots. On Tuesday, Volodymyr Zelensky meets with US President Donald Trump – the sanctions decision thus falls immediately ahead of another summit on Western Ukraine policy.

Those affected are individuals whose assets were frozen in the EU and who were subject to entry bans. With the removal, these measures cease to apply to the two individuals named. The current live blog entry remains silent so far on the background of the deletion.

What the EU has specifically decided

The European Union is extending its Russia sanctions by a further three years. This is reported by DIE ZEIT in its live blog on the Ukraine war. The existing sanctions regime – entry bans, asset freezes, and trade restrictions – thus remains in force across the next EU election cycle.

Two oligarchs are removed from the list

At the same time, two oligarchs are being removed from the sanctions list. This ends the existing EU measures – asset freezes and entry bans – for these two individuals. The current live blog entry provides neither names nor justification. In the past, the EU had usually justified removals with changed circumstances, new findings, or the death of those affected.

Zelensky to meet Trump on Tuesday

Independently of the sanctions decision, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will meet with US President Donald Trump on Tuesday. The backdrop is the ongoing talks about the further course of action in the Ukraine war and the future role of the United States.

What this means for the sanctions architecture

The EU's three-year extension sends a signal of unity among the member states – despite at times differing positions on Russia policy. The fact that two names are simultaneously disappearing from the list shows that the sanctions list is not static, but is regularly reviewed. DIE ZEIT continues to report in a live blog; current developments can be followed there on an ongoing basis.