EU Plans Major Expansion of Russia Sanctions for Autumn

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced plans to propose the most significant expansion of sanctions against Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, aiming to increase the total number of sanctioned Russian individuals, companies, and organizations by one-third. The announcement, made in an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt published on August 17, 2026, signals a renewed push to intensify economic pressure on Moscow amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Kallas stated that the new listings would be put forward in the autumn and, once adopted, would immediately raise the number of sanctioned entities by a third. She emphasized that the pressure must keep growing until Moscow ends its war. The EU's foreign policy chief did not provide specific details on the timing or the precise targets of the proposed measures. She estimated that existing EU sanctions have already cost Russia dearly, depriving its war machine of over one trillion euros.

The proposal comes just weeks after the EU adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Russia on July 23, 2026. That package, which included curbs on the banking sector and cryptocurrency networks along with...