New EU sanctions target Russian military-industrial complex

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union said Friday its latest round of sanctions will hit Russia’s military-industrial complex , as well as people and groups that are attacking Ukrainian civilians or kidnapping children.

Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, said the package will deal a blow to 168 “entities” — companies or state organizations — linked to the arms industry.

“This will ensure that key chemicals, nerve agents, night-vision and radio-navigation equipment, electronics and IT components that could be used by the Russian war machine cannot be freely traded,” said the European Council, which represents member states.

“To avoid circumvention, some Russian-controlled entities based in illegally annexed Crimea or Sevastopol are also included in the list,” it added in a statement.

The ninth package of EU punitive measures against Russia for its war in Ukraine was approved by EU leaders at a summit Thursday. It was formally adopted Friday by written procedure.

“After food and hunger, (Russia President Vladimir) Putin is now weaponizing the winter, by deliberately depriving millions of Ukrainians of water, electricity and heating,” said Josep Borrell, the bloc’s top diplomat. “We will continue targeting the economy and against those who are instrumental in this brutal war.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package will “push the Russian economy and war machine further off the rails.”

Von der Leyen added that the new sanctions target “almost 200 individuals and entities involved in attacks on civilians and kidnapping children.” Russia’s open effort to adopt Ukrainian children and bring them up as Russian is already well underway, in one of the most explosive issues of the war, an Associated Press investigation has showed.

Full details of the package will be revealed once sanctions are published in the bloc’s legal records.

The bloc will also expand the export ban on aviation and space industry -related goods and technology to include aircraft engines and their parts, with the measure applying to both manned and unmanned aircraft.

“Meaning that from now on there will be a ban on the direct exports of drone engines to Russia and any third country that could supply drones to Russia,” the European Council said.

In addition, an assets freeze will be imposed on two additional Russian banks, while the Russian Regional Development Bank will be added to the list of Russian state-owned or -controlled entities that are subject to a full transaction ban.

Four additional media outlets perceived as propaganda tools used to destabilize the EU — NTV/NTV Mir, Rossiya 1, REN TV and Pervyi Kanal — will have their broadcasting licenses suspended, the council said.

In the energy sector, the EU said it will prohibit new investments in Russian mining, with the exception of mining and quarrying activities involving certain critical raw materials.

Despite the initial reluctance of some member countries who thought the move would create loopholes in the sanctions net, the EU also decided to introduce derogations for some individuals and companies under sanctions to facilitate the transport of wheat and fertilizers between Russia and third countries.

The European Council said this was “to avoid and combat food insecurity around the world, and in order to avoid disruptions in the payment channels for agricultural products.”

As well as sanctions on various entities, banks and individuals, including Putin and members of his family, the EU has previously approved an embargo on coal and seaborne oil imports, in close concert with Western allies.

布鲁塞尔（美联社）——欧盟周五表示，最新一轮制裁将打击俄罗斯的军工复合体，以及袭击乌克兰平民或绑架儿童的个人和团体。

欧盟委员会副主席瓦尔迪斯·东布罗夫斯基斯表示，该方案将对与军火工业有关的 168 个“实体”（公司或国家组织）造成打击。

“这将确保俄罗斯战争机器可能使用的关键化学品、神经毒剂、夜视和无线电导航设备、电子产品和信息技术组件不能自由交易，”代表成员国的欧洲理事会表示。

声明还补充说：“为避免规避，一些设在被非法吞并的克里米亚或塞瓦斯托波尔的俄罗斯控制实体也被列入名单。”

欧盟领导人周四在峰会上批准了针对俄罗斯在乌克兰战争中实施的第九轮欧盟惩罚性措施。该措施于周五以书面程序正式通过。

“在粮食短缺和饥饿危机之后，（俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·）普京现在又将冬季武器化，蓄意剥夺数百万乌克兰人的水、电和暖气，”欧盟最高外交官何塞普·博雷尔表示。“我们将继续打击乌克兰经济，并追究那些在这场残酷战争中扮演重要角色的人的责任。”

欧盟委员会主席乌尔苏拉·冯德莱恩表示，该方案将“进一步推动俄罗斯经济和战争机器脱离正轨”。

冯德莱恩补充说，新的制裁措施针对“近200名参与袭击平民和绑架儿童的个人和实体”。美联社的一项调查显示，俄罗斯公开收养乌克兰儿童并将其抚养为俄罗斯公民的计划已经全面展开，这是这场战争中最具爆炸性的问题之一。

该方案的全部细节将在制裁措施正式公布于欧盟法律记录后予以披露。

欧盟还将扩大对航空航天工业相关产品和技术的出口禁令，将飞机发动机及其零部件也纳入其中，该措施适用于有人驾驶飞机和无人驾驶飞机。

欧洲理事会表示：“这意味着从现在起，将禁止直接向俄罗斯以及任何可能向俄罗斯供应无人机的第三国出口无人机发动机。”

此外，还将对另外两家俄罗斯银行实施资产冻结，同时将俄罗斯区域开发银行列入俄罗斯国有或受控实体名单，这些实体将被全面禁止交易。

欧盟委员会表示，另外四家被认为是用来破坏欧盟稳定的宣传工具的媒体——NTV/NTV Mir、Rossiya 1、REN TV 和 Pervyi Kanal——的广播许可证将被暂停。

在能源领域，欧盟表示将禁止对俄罗斯采矿业进行新的投资，但涉及某些关键原材料的采矿和采石活动除外。

尽管一些成员国最初对此表示反对，认为此举会在制裁网中制造漏洞，但欧盟还是决定对一些受制裁的个人和公司实行豁免，以便利俄罗斯与第三国之间小麦和化肥的运输。

欧洲理事会表示，此举是为了“避免和应对世界各地的粮食不安全问题，并避免农产品支付渠道中断”。

除了对包括普京及其家人在内的各种实体、​​银行和个人实施制裁外，欧盟此前还与西方盟友密切合作，批准了对煤炭和海运石油进口的禁运。