EU Council reveals details of personal sanctions imposed in response to Russia's destabilising activities

The Council of the European Union has disclosed the details of additional personal sanctions imposed in response to Russia’s hybrid destabilising activities targeting EU countries and partners.

Source: Council of the EU in a press release on 20 May, as reported by European Pravda

Details: The EU has imposed additional restrictions on 21 individuals and 6 legal entities linked to Russia’s destabilising activities abroad.

In addition, the EU Council has made it possible to apply measures against assets such as ships, aircraft, real estate and communication equipment, and financial institutions or companies involved in cryptocurrency, if they are directly or indirectly connected to Russia’s destabilising activities.

Quote: "In light of the systematic, international Russian campaign of media manipulation and distortion of facts aimed at destabilising neighbouring countries and the EU, the Council will now have the possibility to suspend the broadcasting licences of Russian media outlets under the control of the Russian leadership, and to prohibit them from broadcasting their content in the EU."

Details: The measures do not, however, prohibit such media outlets from carrying out other activities in the EU, such as interviews.

The sanctioned individuals include Viktor Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian businessman and pro-Russian politician to whose daughter Putin is godfather, and his associates Artem Marchevskyi and Oleh Voloshyn, who have promoted pro-Russian propaganda targeting EU countries and Ukraine.

Notably, Medvedchuk and Marchevskyi, as well as the media outlet Voice of Europe, have been subject to EU sanctions since May 2024. The specific updates in the current measures are not yet known.

The list also includes individuals believed to be involved in attempts to undermine the democratic political process in Estonia and Germany: Alik Khuchbarov and Ilya Bocharov, thought to be operatives from GRU, the Russian military intelligence agency; German blogger Thomas Röper; Russian blogger Alina Lipp; Turkish outlet AFA Medya and its founder Hüseyin Doğru; Elena Kolbasnikova; Yulia Prokhorova; Rostislav Teslyuk; and Andrei Kharkovsky (some of these individuals were previously mentioned in an investigative report by Reuters).

Also listed are Viktor Lukovenko and the news company African Initiative, which promotes pro-Russian narratives to African audiences; Justin Blaise Tagouh, CEO of the press group International Africa Media; and Mikhail Prudnikov, also for systematically spreading pro-Russian and anti-Western narratives in Africa; as well as Sylvain Afoua, founder of the Black African Defense League (which France ordered to be disbanded in 2021 for inciting hatred and violence).

Among the legal entities on the list is web hosting service Stark Industries, along with its CEO Iurie Neculiti and owner Ivan Neculiti. They are believed to have provided Russian-backed actors with the means to conduct various destabilising activities against the EU and third countries, ranging from disinformation to cyberattacks.

Fishing companies Norebo JSC and Murman Sea Food have also been sanctioned, as they are believed to be involved in espionage and sabotage activities supported by Russia, including actions targeting undersea cables.

Also on the list are the Main Radio Frequency Center and its director Ruslan Nesterenko, who is considered responsible for large-scale GPS signal jamming over the Baltic states, posing risks to civil aviation.

The sanctioned individuals will be subject to an asset freeze and a ban on entering and transiting through the EU, and EU citizens and legal entities will be prohibited from providing them with any funds.

Background:

• These sanctions are part of a series of packages prepared for approval on 20 May. 
• The EU Council has approved the 17th package of EU sanctions against Russia for its war against Ukraine, along with separate sanctions for its use of chemical weapons against Ukraine.

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