The European Union agreed on Wednesday to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia, targeting companies in mainland China suspected of helping the Kremlin procure banned items for the first time.
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The sanctions focus heavily on anti-evasion and target companies around the world accused of supplying Russia with EU-made cutting-edge technology and military goods, particularly drone components.
Companies from Turkey and North Korea, among others, were also targeted. Nearly 200 people and organizations, mostly from Russia, were added to the blacklist, which now contains more than 2,000 names.
However, the package does not cover anyone allegedly involved the death of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic. Stricter restrictions on aluminum were also not considered as the issue remains controversial.
Full details of the sanctions will be announced following publication in the EU's Official Journal, which is expected to take place later this week.
“We must further degrade Putin’s war machine,” said Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
The bloc had previously tried to punish a handful of companies based in mainland China, but complaints from Beijing officials and reservations from some member states prevented the move. Increasingly close ties between Russia and China eventually prompted diplomats in Brussels to give the idea another try.
Trade between Russia and China reached a record high of more than 240 billion dollars (213 billion euros) in 2023, according to customs figures from the Chinese government. This figure far exceeds the $200 billion target set by the two countries.
The new set of EU sanctions, the 13th package since February 2022, also targets Russian-run institutions that re-educate children abducted from Ukraine. The alleged kidnappings triggered an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court against President Vladimir Putin, treating the charges as war crimes.
The adoption of the package deliberately coincided with the second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. The process has been slowed by Hungary, which is keen to avoid any restrictions related to Rosatom, the Russian nuclear monopoly.
Rosatom is the main contractor for the expansion of the Paks nuclear power plant, which supplies over 50% of Hungary's electricity.
Despite the small hiccup, the sentences were approved three days before the self-imposed symbolic deadline marking the two-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, unlike last year when the bloc took place almost missed it the milestone.
The latest package focuses almost exclusively on combating sanctions evasion, a pervasive phenomenon that has been likened to Whac-A-Mole: As soon as one loophole is closed, another pops up.
China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia and Armenia have been under the EU's radar for months, and special envoy David O'Sullivan is jetting from one country to another trying to convince these governments to do more to do .
“I think we have to be realistic,” O'Sullivan told Euronews In December. “There will always be some degree of workaround. There’s money to be made there.”
Last year the EU introduced one Anti-evasion tool This allows the bloc to restrict certain trade flows with countries as a whole rather than with specific companies. This instrument is considered a last resort and its activation depends on the unanimous consent of Member States, a requirement that is becoming increasingly difficult to meet.
A diplomat, who wished to remain anonymous, said it had become “very clear” that the sanctions against Russia were not as effective as the bloc had originally hoped, as Russian society still “got what it wanted.”
A current forecast of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) improved the Russian economy's prospects due to high military spending and strong consumption.
This article has been updated with further details on the sanctions.