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The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia, specifically targeting the ‘shadow fleet’ — Politico

The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia, specifically targeting the ‘shadow fleet’ — Politico

11 May 2026, 16:15

The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia, specifically targeting the ‘shadow fleet’ — Politico — Sanctions against Russia

The European Union is working on a 21st package of sanctions against Russia, which may include restrictions targeting banks, religious figures, Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’ and companies selling Ukrainian grain from the temporarily occupied territories.

Politico reports this, citing European diplomats.

It is noted that the 21st package of sanctions against Russia is being prepared for late June or early July 2026, and its main target will be Russia’s ‘shadow fleet’. Seven EU officials and diplomats also told the publication that the new restrictions will target Russian banks, financial institutions and military-industrial companies, as well as firms trading in grain stolen from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

EU officials also plan to include in the new package those sanctions previously blocked by former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. This applies, in particular, to members of the Russian Orthodox Church and its head, Patriarch Kirill, who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The EU may also reinstate the decision to ban maritime services for Russian vessels, which had previously been blocked by Greece and Malta.

“There has been a new impetus following the Hungarian elections. We must review the restrictions we have been working on previously, but we must also develop a new package of sanctions,” the EU’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, told journalists after a meeting of EU ministers in Luxembourg.

Furthermore, according to Politico, the EU will soon impose sanctions on more than two dozen Russians involved in the abduction of Ukrainian children.

EU officials noted that Russia’s economy is currently in its “worst state since the start of the war”, so “this is an opportunity to put further pressure on it”.

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