The European Union imposed sanctions on Monday on almost 1,600 Russian people and companies linked to Russia’s arms industry, notably targeting those suspected of involvement in making parts for drones and missiles.
In the biggest single listing of sanctions since the Kremlin launched full-scale war on Ukraine almost five years ago, the EU also targeted 77 people accused of organizing, working on, or running in “sham elections” in occupied parts of Ukraine.
Announcing the sanctions, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that more than half of them “address the production chain for the ballistic missiles Russia uses to kill Ukrainian civilians every day.”
“This is not the time to ease pressure on Moscow but to increase it,” she said.
The EU said the companies are on a list established by the Russian government itself “that identifies them as belonging to the Russian military-industrial complex, and they are therefore entitled to receive subsidies.”
The EU considers those officials running the companies to be “supporting Russia’s military and industrial complex.” It said the sanctions are aimed at “mid-level suppliers that represent the ‘core’ of the Russian military industry.”
The components they provide include electronics, communication equipment, radar and navigation systems, satellite and missile systems, as well as explosives and ammunition.
The move brings the total number of Russian officials and “entities” targeted by the EU to more than 4,500, including President Vladimir Putin, oligarchs suspected of backing him and scores of lawmakers, as well as banks and the shadow fleet illicitly shipping oil.