The European Union (EU) ambassadors have agreed on the 13th package of sanctions against Russia, targeting approximately 200 legal and individual entities, as reported by sources to Reuters.
The Belgian representation to the European Council shared on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that this set of new restrictions will be among the most comprehensive to date.
It is specified that the package does not introduce new sectoral sanctions. The Belgian representation noted, "This package is one of the widest approved by the EU. It will undergo a written procedure and will be officially approved on February 24th."
The new sanctions are expected to impact drone-related companies. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the new agreement, highlighting that the EU's sanction lists now include around two thousand entries. Companies linked to drones are likely to be included in the new sanctions list. "We continue to cut off Russia's access to drones," von der Leyen wrote on X.
On February 19th, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock mentioned the UAV sector in the new EU sanction package against Russia.
According to Bloomberg, the sanctions will affect companies involved in supplying key technologies and electronic components to Russian defense-industrial complex enterprises. The sanctions will also target a number of Russian officials, specifically mentioning former presidential security service member and current governor of the Tula region, Lieutenant General Alexey Dyumin.
Von der Leyen also mentioned that the 13th package of EU sanctions against Russia aims to counter Moscow's circumvention of established restrictions through third countries. The EU is monitoring which countries Russia uses to bypass sanctions, engaging in stern discussions with these states and imposing sanctions on their companies.
Hungary Decides Not to Veto New Sanctions Against Russia
On February 19th, it was revealed that Hungary would not block the 13th package of EU sanctions against Russia, as all points conflicting with Budapest's interests were removed during negotiations with European representatives.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated,
"At the preparation stage of the 13th sanction package, we managed to exclude all elements that would contradict Hungary's economic interests. Therefore, we believe using a veto would not make sense from this perspective. At the same time, I think the European Union is making the wrong decision."
However, four days earlier, on February 15th, the Financial Times reported that Hungary had blocked the 13th package of EU sanctions against Russia at an ambassadors' meeting.
Hungary was the only country to vote against the package at the EU member states' ambassadors meeting on February 14th. An official informed journalists that Budapest objected to a clause concerning Chinese companies in the new sanction list.
