On July 23 (local time), according to TASS news agency, the European Union (EU) officially approved the 21st sanction package against Russia, adding 48 individuals and 168 organizations to the sanctions list.
According to the announcement announced by the European Council in the Official Dispatch of the European Union, the new sanctions package expands its scope of application to many fields, from defense, finance to media, sports and trade.
The additional list includes a number of individuals believed to be involved in the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), including Andrey Doronin, Olga Korchagina and Denis Merzlikin.
The EU also included in the sanctions list two senior officials in Russia's financial sector, Sergey Belov and Ruslan Arefiev.
Some Russian businessmen and large business leaders are also subject to orders, including owners of the Svetofor retail chain, businessman Mikhail Gutseriev, General Director of Gazprom-Media Alexander Zharov and Director of ANO Dialog organization Vladimir Tabak.
In the field of sports and culture, Russian Minister of Sports Mikhail Degtyarev, President of the World Chess Federation (FIDE) Arkady Dvorkovich and musician Alexander Marshal were also included in the list.
According to EU regulations, all assets of listed individuals and organizations will be frozen if they are within the territory of member states. EU organizations and citizens are also prohibited from providing financial resources or any economic resources to these subjects.
For sanctioned individuals, the EU continues to impose a ban on entry or transit through the territory of member states.
The European Council said that all measures in the 21st sanction package take effect immediately after being announced in the Official Dispatch of the European Union.
This is considered the latest expansion in a series of restrictive measures imposed by the EU on Russia. With the addition of 216 individuals and organizations, the total number of subjects on the bloc's sanctions list has now reached about 3,100, the highest level since the EU began implementing sanctions against Moscow.
