BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union imposed new sanctions on Russia on Monday over its war against Ukraine, targeting Moscow’s shadow fleet of tankers that transport liquefied natural gas across Europe and several companies.
In a statement issued at a meeting of EU foreign ministers, the bloc said it will “prohibit the reloading of Russian LNG on EU territory for the purpose of transhipment to third countries.”
The EU estimates that about 4 to 6 billion cubic meters (141 billion to 212 billion cubic feet) of Russian LNG were shipped through EU ports to third countries last year. Russia is suspected of running a “ghost fleet” to evade sanctions and maintain the flow of energy revenue so it can finance the war.
The measures focus on ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore transfers, as well as reloading operations. It also includes a crackdown on LNG re-exports to third countries through the EU, plus a ban on new investments to help Russia complete the LNG projects it is working on.
A total of 61 new “entities” – often companies, banks, agencies and other organizations – have been added to the EU list, including several in China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Many are accused of circumventing the bloc’s sanctions or supplying sensitive equipment to Russia.
Another 50 officials have been targeted with asset freezes and travel bans. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, as well as dozens of lawmakers and several oligarchs, are among the more than 1,700 people already listed by the EU.
The more than 400 entities previously affected include companies active in the military, aviation, shipbuilding and machinery sectors, the Wagner mercenary group, political parties and banks. In the EU, approximately 210 billion euros worth of Russian Central Bank assets have been frozen.
