Last Update: January 27, 2023, 23:24 IST
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags are raised outside the headquarters of the EU Commission in Brussels, Belgium June 17, 2022. Reuters/Yves Hermann
The restrictions, originally imposed when Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, were substantially increased after the all-out offensive began in February
The European Union increased its sanctions on Russia over the war in ukraine on Friday for the next six months as it considers new measures against Moscow.
The sanctions, originally imposed when Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, were substantially increased following the start of the all-out offensive in February.
They have been regularly extended for periods of six months each in the last eight years. The European Union has imposed nine rounds of sanctions on Moscow since it launched a major cross-border offensive last year.
The measures include affecting Russia’s key oil exports, separating its banks from the SWIFT global payments system and personally targeting President Vladimir Putin.
This time some Eastern European countries sought to extend the ban for a year so that the punishment could be stopped for a longer period.
The bloc’s executive branch is currently working to prepare proposals for the tenth round of sanctions.
But officials have warned that it is becoming increasingly difficult to reach agreement on further tough measures among the 27 EU member states.
Ukraine has called for the next package of sanctions to target Russia’s missile industry and nuclear power sector.
The EU is also eyeing mounting sanctions on Moscow’s ally Belarus, which has served as a staging ground for Russia’s war effort.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)