19th package of EU sanctions: EU reaction to Russian invasion of Ukraine (regularly updated)

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February and March 2014 and the subsequent annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol to the Russian Federation (Russia) on 16 March 2014, declared illegal also by the UN General Assembly (UNGA/11493, 27 March 2014), the EU has adopted, under articles 29 of the TEU and 215 of the TFEU, a series of restrictive measures against persons and entities for their role in actions threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine[1].

Following Russia’s recognition of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics’ independence on 21 February 2022 and its further invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the EU adopted a first package of sanctions.

In view of the gravity of the situation, and in response to Russia’s continued military aggression against Ukraine, the EU has adopted a series of new restrictive measures.

More than three years after Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine, on October 23, 2025, the EU adopted its 19^th package of sanctions against Russia, as well as further measures against Belarus mirroring some of those adopted against Russia.

The following are among the main measures implemented to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet, thus cutting Russian energy imports and fighting against sanctions circumvention, and to restrict Russia’s access to battlefield technologies:

19^th package of sanctions

Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2032 of 23 October 2025 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP, and Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2033 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine:[2]

Military industry:

• Addition of 45 entities to the list, set out in Annex IV to Decision 2014/512/CFSP, of those directly supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex and subject to tighter export restrictions regarding dual-use goods and technology, as well as goods and technology which might contribute to the technological enhancement of Russia’s defence and security sector, including:
  • 28 entities established in Russia and 17 in third countries (12 in China, including Hong Kong, 3 in India and 2 in Thailand).
• Extension of the list of restricted items which might contribute to Russia’s military and technological enhancement or the development of its defence and security sector (Annex VII to Regulation 833/2014), including:
  • Electronic components;
  • Rangefinders;
  • Additional chemicals used in the preparation of propellants;
  • Additional metals, oxides and alloys used in the manufacturing of military systems.
• Further restrictions on exports of goods which contribute to the enhancement of Russian industrial capabilities, such as salts and ores, articles of rubber, tubes, tyres, millstones and construction materials (Annex XXIII to Regulation 833/2014).
• Prohibition to purchase, import or transfer, directly or indirectly, goods which generate significant revenues for Russia, as listed in Annex XXI to Regulation (EU) 833/2014, extended to all acyclic hydrocarbons.

Energy-related measures:

• Extension of the list of partner countries, set out in Annex XXIV to Decision 2014/512, exempted from the obligation to provide, at the moment of importation of petroleum products, evidence of the country of origin of the crude oil used for the refining of the product in a third country (i.e., Canada, Norway, United Kingdom, United States of America, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, New Zeland).
• New ban on imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG): prohibition, as of 25 April 2026, on the purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly into the Union of liquified natural gas originating or exported from Russia, as well as on the provision of related technical or financial assistance. The prohibition shall apply as of 1 January 2027 for contract exceeding one year and concluded before 17 June 2025.
• Addition of 117 vessels to the list of vessels set out in Annex XVI to Decision 2014/512 (bringing the total of Putin’s shadow fleet of oil tankers to 557 vessels), which are banned from Member States’ ports and locks, as well as from receiving a broad range of services related to maritime transport.
  • Amendment of one of the designation criteria: Annex XVI to Decision 2014/512 shall now include vessels that transport mineral products that originate in Russia or are exported from Russia).
  • Amendment of related provisions on prohibited services for designated vessels: addition of “reinsurance” to Article 4x of Decision 2014/512.

Regarding the prohibition on Union operators to provide insurance and reinsurance to designated vessels, the designation of a vessel is without prejudice to the payment of pay-outs from the relevant insurer of the vessel to persons and entities having suffered damage caused by the vessel in respect of claims arising from events before the vessel was designated.

• Full transaction ban on the two state-owned enterprises Rosneft and Gazprom Neft: elimination of the previous exemption for Rosneft’s and Gazprom Neft’s oil and gas imports into the EU.

Financial measures:

• Expansion of the transaction ban that applies, as from 25 January 2026, to legal persons, entities or bodies that are connecting to the system for transfer of financial messages (‘SPFS’) of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation (‘Central Bank of Russia’) or equivalent specialised financial messaging services set up by the Central Bank of Russia, to other payment services, such as the Russian National Payment Card System (in Russian, ‘Mir’) or the Fast Payments System (‘SBP’), set up by the Central Bank of Russia or by other Russian entities.
  • New exemptions for transactions (as specified in Article 1ad to Decision 2014/512):
    • Necessary for the functioning of diplomatic and consular representations of the Union and of the Member States in third countries;
    • Made by nationals of a Member State who are residents of a third country;
    • Necessary for existing contracts and the reception of payments;
    • Necessary for Member States’ ethnic minorities in Russia.
• Expansion of the transaction ban on third-country credit and financial institutions and crypto-asset service providersto:
  • Entities that provide payment services, and in particular entities that provide crypto-asset and payment services to listed entities;
  • Entities that operate as a mirror or successor entity of the listed ones, if certain criteria are met (as specified in Article 1ae, paragraph 2a to Decision 2014/512).
• Addition of 8 new entities to the list of third country financial institutions subject to transaction ban set out in Annex XIX to Decision 2014/512 (i.e., banks and oil traders from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, the UAE and Hong Kong circumventing EU sanctions).
• New exemptions for transactions that are necessary for existing contracts and the reception of payments (as specified in Article 1ae, paragraph 3 (d) and (e) to Decision 2014/512).
• Restrictions on Russian special economic zones: prohibition on maintaining (as of 25 January 2026) or initiating any new participation in, the creation of joint ventures with, and the provision of financing to, any enterprise established in or operating through certain special economic, innovation or preferential zones, as well as on entering into new contracts with such enterprises, as listed in Part A or B of Annex XXV to Decision 2014/512.

These Special Economic Zones and innovation regimes are central to Russia’s industrial and technological capacity, hosting enterprises engaged in the production or development of dual-use goods, advanced electronics, robotics, software, vehicles, aviation components, unmanned aerial systems and other goods and technology contributing to the Russian war effort.

• Restrictions on the provision of crypto-asset services: prohibition on provision, directly or indirectly, of the following services to Russian nationalsor natural persons residing in Russia, or to legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia:
  • Crypto-asset services, as defined in Regulation (EU) 2023/1114;
  • Issuing of payment instruments, acquiring of payment transactions, or payment initiation services, as defined in Directive (EU) 2015/2366;
  • Issuing of electronic money, as defined in Directive 2009/110/EC.
• Prohibition on transactions involving crypto-assets listed in Annex XXVI to Decision 2014/512 (i.e., rouble-backed stablecoin A7A5).
• Addition of 5 Russian banks to the list of entities subject to a transaction ban (Annex VIII to Decision 2014/512/CFSP), bringing the total to 50.

Infrastructure-related measures:

• Extension of the transaction ban to any ports and locks in third countries other than Russia that are used for the transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)or missiles or related technology or components thereof to Russia, or for the circumvention of the Oil Price Cap by vessels practicing irregular and high-risk shipping practices, or for the circumvention of other restrictive measures (as listed in Part A—for ports and locks in Russia—and Part C—for ports and locks in third countries other than Russia—of Annex XXI to Decision 2014/512).

Service-related measures:

• Restriction on the provision, to the Government of Russia or to legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia, of services that contribute to enhancing Russia’s technological capabilities, as listed in Article 1k to Decision 2014/512 (e.g., commercial space-based services, AI services, high-performance computing and quantum computing services).
• Prohibition to provide services directly related to tourism activities in Russia.
• Introduction of a new requirement for prior authorisation by the competent authority for any services provided to the Government of Russia in order to mitigate the risk of a service contributing to Russia’s military, technological or industrial capacity.
• Prohibition to provide reinsurance services regarding used vessels and aircraft of the Russian government or Russian persons for up to five years after their sale or lease arrangement to third countries.

Russian diplomats-related measures:

• Obligation for Russian diplomats to inform in advance of their travel to a Member State other than the receiving State and, where deemed appropriate by the Member States, to require authorisation for the travel to its territories of such individuals, based on visas or residence permits issued by another State.

Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2036 of 23 October 2025 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP, and Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2037 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 269/2014, and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2035 of 23 October 2025 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine:[3]

• Addition of 22 persons and 42 entities to the list of persons/entities subject to restrictive measures (asset freezes and prohibition to make economic resources available, as well as travel bans for individuals) set out in Annex I to Regulation (EU) No 269/2014. These listings include:
  • Russia’s largest gold producer, Poluys;
  • Senior DPRK military commander deployed to Russia;
  • An individual responsible for the inhumane treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war;
  • 11 individuals responsible for the illegal deportation and military re-education of Ukrainian children.More than three years after Russia’s invasion and war of aggression against Ukraine, on October 23, 2025, the EU adopted its 19^th package of sanctions against Russia.
    The following are among the main measures implemented to crack down on Russia’s shadow fleet, thus cutting Russian energy imports and fighting against sanctions circumvention, and to restrict Russia’s access to battlefield technologies
• Introduction of a new criterion for the listing of natural or legal persons, entities or bodies responsible for, supporting or implementing actions or policies contributing to the deportation, forced transfer, forced assimilation, including indoctrination, or militarised education of Ukrainian minors.
• Inclusion in Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of the definitions of ‘owning’ and ‘controlling’ a legal person, entity or body, to align with the definitions used in Council Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001.

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[1] Council Decision 2014/145/CFSP of 17 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, OJ L 78, 17.3.2014,

p. 16–21; and Council Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 of 17 March 2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, OJ L 78, 17.3.2014, p. 6–15;

Council Decision 2014/512/CFSP of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine OJ L229, 31.7.2014, p. 13–17; and Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 of 31 July 2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, OJ L 229, 31.7.2014, p. 1–11.

[2] Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2032 of 23 October 2025 amending Decision 2014/512/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, OJ L, 2025/2032, 23.10.2025; and

Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2033 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 concerning restrictive measures in view of Russia’s actions destabilising the situation in Ukraine, OJ L, 2025/2033, 23.10.2025.

[3] Council Decision (CFSP) 2025/2036 of 23 October 2025 amending Decision 2014/145/CFSP concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, OJ L, 2025/2036, 23.10.2025;

Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2037 of 23 October 2025 amending Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, OJ L, 2025/2037, 23.10.2025; and

Council Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2035 of 23 October 2025 implementing Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 concerning restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, OJ L, 2025/2035, 23.10.2025.