EU adopts 18th sanctions package against Russia and Belarus, expands financial transaction ban
The Council of the European Union adopted a new sanctions package on 18 July 2025 that extends existing measures, adds new restrictions on Belarus, and introduces a comprehensive ban on transactions with certain financial institutions. The EU is also weighing limits on ships serving shadow‑fleet tankers and may target additional banks, oil traders, refineries and cryptocurrency operators in third‑
The Council of the European Union adopted the 18th sanctions package against Russia and Belarus on 18 July 2025, according to eaccny.com. The package extends existing restrictive measures against both countries, focuses on the banking, energy and defence sectors, and includes new restrictive measures against Belarus, eaccny.com reported. The most significant new measure is a comprehensive ban on transactions with certain financial institutions, eaccny.com added.
The ban converts the provision in Article 5h of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014, previously limited to specialised financial messaging services under the SWIFT exclusion, into a full transaction ban, covering both direct and indirect transactions with entities listed in Annex XIV a, eaccny.com reported.
According to bluesky, the European Union is also considering restrictions on ships that provide services to shadow‑fleet tankers. Bluesky further reported that the new sanctions package may include sanctions against additional banks, oil traders, refineries and cryptocurrency operators in third countries that Moscow allegedly uses to circumvent existing restrictions.
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