EU extends sanctions against Russia for 6 months, source says

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

The European Union has reached an agreement to extend sanctions against Russia for another six months, an undisclosed EU official told the Kyiv Independent.

The EU renews its sectoral sanctions against Russia every six months in January and July. Sanctions encompass a broad array of economic areas, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport, and luxury goods.

The agreement comes amid fears that Hungary, one of the bloc’s most Kremlin-friendly member states, would attempt to block the sanctions extension.

The European bloc first adopted sanctions related to Russian aggression on July 31, 2014, after Moscow occupied Crimea and invaded Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. The EU has significantly scaled up its sanctions measures in the wake of the full-scale invasion, adopting 17 major sanctions packages since February 2022.

Ukraine war latest: Russia’s advance in Sumy Oblast ‘halted’; Kyiv, Moscow carry out POW swap

Key developments on June 26: * “50,000 Russian troops pinned down” — Ukraine halts advance in Sumy Oblast, summer offensive “faltering,” Syrskyi says * Ukraine, Russia conduct new POW swap under Istanbul deal * North Korea likely to send more troops to Russia by August, South Korea says * Explosions reported in Moscow, Russia

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk