EU adopts 15th package of sanctions against Russia

The European Union has adopted the 15th package of sanctions against Russia, according to the EU Council website .

The list includes 54 individuals and 32 organizations, including from China , India, Iran, Serbia and the United Arab Emirates. EU authorities believe that these companies are involved in circumventing trade restrictions and supplying sensitive goods to Russia that could be used for military purposes.

Also, 52 vessels from third countries were subject to sanctions as part of restrictions against the "shadow fleet". Brussels stated that these vessels help to circumvent the mechanism for limiting oil prices, support the Russian energy sector or export grain from territories that came under Russian control after the start of military actions (EU countries, like most other states, do not recognize the results of the referendums on the accession of the Donbass republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions to Russia).

It is not yet clear which individuals were affected by the restrictions; the list is to be published in the EU's official journal later. According to the Council, these include the management of leading energy sector companies, people responsible for "the deportation of children and propaganda" and the missile strike on the Okhmatdet children's hospital in Kyiv on July 8, as well as two high-ranking North Korean officials.

Russian authorities have denied accusations of kidnapping Ukrainian children. President Vladimir Putin has said that they were rescued from the combat zone, and that if the child has relatives in Ukraine , there are no problems with returning him to the country.

Speaking about Okhmatdet, the Kremlin recalled the Defense Ministry's statement, which "indicates that we are talking about the fall of an anti-missile." "And we still insist: we do not strike civilian targets, strikes are carried out on critical infrastructure facilities, on military targets that are somehow related to the military potential of the regime," said the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov .

Moscow and Pyongyang denied the data from the South Korean and US authorities about the participation of North Korean troops in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but in early November the DPRK Foreign Ministry confirmed that the country was providing military assistance to Moscow, without specifying what it consisted of.

The European Union has tried several times to agree on a new package of sanctions. In particular, Latvia and Lithuania opposed extending the deadlines given to European companies to withdraw investments from Russia. The disagreements were resolved on December 11.

The Russian authorities consider the sanctions illegal and ineffective. The Kremlin, however, stated that the restrictions will remain in place for many years, and Russia is proceeding from this when developing its economic policy.

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