Ukraine and its European partners are preparing the 21st sanctions package against the Russian Federation, focusing on the financial sector of the aggressor state and the shadow fleet.
Points of attention
- Ukraine and the EU are collaborating on the 21st sanctions package targeting the Russian financial sector and shadow fleet, with a specific focus on vessels and assets linked to foreign financing of war.
- The proposed sanctions include measures against Russian banks, payment systems, settlement instruments, crypto exchanges, and stablecoin payment systems.
EU prepares 21st package of sanctions against Russia
This was announced by Presidential Commissioner for Sanctions Policy Vladyslav Vlasyuk during an online meeting with journalists.
He acknowledged that, for market reasons, the scope for further tightening sanctions on Russia's energy sector, which generates huge profits for the Kremlin, is currently limited. Instead, the focus will be on the financial sector: Russian banks, payment systems, and settlement instruments.
A significant amount of work has already been done in this area with the participation of the National Bank, the Foreign Intelligence Service and the cyber police. We have provided our partners with a large number of potential targets and analytical materials. These include crypto exchanges, stablecoin payment systems, exchange services and individual financial institutions. Some of these proposals will likely be included in the 21st EU sanctions package.
The idea of including vessels and other assets related to the illegal export of grain from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine in the sanctions lists is also being discussed.
The European Commission has generally responded positively to most of the proposals, and this is already an important stage, as the proposals are moving into a practical plane. Then everything depends on the coordination between the member states. The military-industrial complex direction is also present in this package as a basic element.
He also spoke about the work on mechanisms for physically detaining ships that the Russian Federation uses to finance the war. This involves creating legal grounds for arresting ships and transferring them to partners.
The essence of the approach is that criminal proceedings are opened in Ukraine, which are subsequently used as a legal basis in international mechanisms — in particular through international law. The proposed model involves creating grounds for a full-fledged arrest. Because now it often happens that a partner country detains a shadow fleet vessel (for example, due to a false flag or non-compliance with technical requirements), and soon releases it — due to the lack of a sufficient legal basis.
Proposals for updating the legal framework, he said, are being transmitted to various countries through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The goal is to create a clear and legally sound mechanism for partners that allows them to act more confidently when detaining tankers of the aggressor's shadow fleet.
