EU imposes sanctions against 96 companies, asphalt and rubber

The new EU sanctions, prepared for the anniversary of the start of the military operation, include restrictions on three banks,as well as obligations to report assets of sanctioned individuals and entities

The European Union, as part of the tenth package of sanctions against RUSSIA, introduced restrictions against 96 organizations, banned the broadcasting of the Arab RT service and Sputnik radio in the EU, and also expanded the list of goods prohibited for EXPORT from Russia, including bitumen and rubber, follows from a statement on the website of the European Union. Council.

In particular, under the new European sanctions were:

critical technology and manufactured goods , including electronics, specialized vehicles, spare parts for cars and jet engines, as well as goods for the construction sector, "which can be sent to the Russian military, such as antennas or cranes"; dual-use goods , including electronic integrated circuits and thermal imaging cameras. Also, the transit through Russia of dual-use goods exported from the EU is completely prohibited; 96 military-industrial complex entities , including seven Iranian drone companies; RT Arabic service and Sputnik Arabic radio - their broadcasting in Europe will be suspended; Russian bitumen andsynthetic rubber  - the import of these goods into the EU countries is now prohibited; in addition, the EU countries have introduced a ban on the provision of gas storage facilities (with the exception of some LNG facilities) and banned Russian citizens from holding any positions in the governing bodies of critical EU organizations; The sanctions list also includes three Russian banks and a “significant number” of individuals and legal entities, but their names do not appear in the document. Clarifications are promised to be published soon in the official journal of the EU. BLOOMBERG wrote that these would be Alfa-Bank, Tinkoff Bank and Rosbank; EU introduces more detailed reporting obligations on funds and assets on sanctions listsindividuals and legal entities. The EU has introduced an obligation to notify private flights between Russia and the EU either directly or through third countries.

The sanctions will come into force after the decision is published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The total amount of new EU trade restrictions is €11.4 billion, taking into account the new package of sanctions, Brussels has imposed a ban on 49% of its exports to Russia and 58% of imports from Russia (taking into account indicators for 2021), the European Commission notes.

One of the largest rubber producers in Russia, the Sibur company, produces it in the form of nitrile butadiene rubbers of various grades. In total, the enterprise produces 85 grades of synthetic rubber. Back in September 2022, Sibur CEO Mikhail Karisalov said that European countries had actually stopped buying rubber and polymers from Russia. “They just stopped [importing], and that’s it. Such a rather surprisingly banal story: they stop their production, we see a significant degradation among European tire manufacturers, ”he said.

In total, about 700 European partners refused to cooperate with the company within the framework of “self-sanctions”, international sanctions were not imposed against Sibur, Karisalov continued. According to him, this is due to the company's use of hydrocarbon raw materials in the production.

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Karisalov then said that European countries would need, "in the truest sense of the word, years" to replace Russian-made raw materials. Sibur redirected sales to Asian countries, but there are some difficulties with logistics, Karisalov noted in September. “Here, of course, the main challenge is sales, <...> but logistics, which is not yet available,” he stressed and added that now the rise in prices and complexity of export chains are obvious.

RBC sent a request to a representative of Sibur, one of Russia's largest rubber producers.

Sanctions against Russia on the anniversary of the special operation.What is important to know Economics

Earlier, the HEAD of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said that the tenth package of EU sanctions would affect 121 individuals and legal entities from Russia. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Wopke Hoekstra, restrictions will be imposed against persons who are "responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children."

The tenth package of sanctions was coordinated for several weeks, the EU ambassadors managed to do this on the night of February 25. Poland agreed to agree on new restrictions subject to several conditions, including the start of EU preparations for sanctions against Rosatom, Belarus and "Russian propagandists".

The Russian authorities consider the sanctions imposed by the West illegal. President Vladimir Putin warned that such restrictions harm their initiators as well, and called the sanctions insane and thoughtless.