EU weighs largest Russia sanctions package yet amid internal splits

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas is weighing 250 new listings of people and entities tied to Moscow in the 21st sanctions package against Russia. That would be the largest single listings round the bloc has adopted.

Kallas is still weighing open questions over the broader package, while Lithuania’s foreign minister, Kestutis Budrys, is pressing governments not to put economic interests ahead of security interests. The hardest fights centered on a proposed maritime services ban and tighter restrictions on Russian liquefied natural gas, measures that would reach deeper into shipping, energy and commercial ties with Russia.

The EU adopted its 20th sanctions package on 23 April 2026. The round included 120 individual and entity listings, the biggest listings package in two years, and activated the bloc’s anti-circumvention tool for the first time. It also added 46 vessels linked to Russia’s shadow fleet and laid the groundwork for a future maritime services ban on Russian crude oil and petroleum products.

The bloc’s previous package, adopted on 23 October 2025, imposed a total ban on Russian LNG from 1 January 2027 for long-term contracts and within six months for short-term contracts, while also tightening pressure on the shadow fleet. It laid the groundwork for a maritime services ban to replace the oil price cap and introduced a ban on LNG terminal services from 1 January 2027.