‘Espionage Is a Constant Threat’ – EU Proposes Fresh Sanctions on Russia, Warns of Orbital Dangers

EU proposes new sanctions on Russia with emphasis on ore exports and more restrictions on Moscow’s “shadow fleet.”

EU diplomats on Wednesday continued to propose fresh sanctions on Russia, focusing in particular on aluminum among other industries, and additional measures to curb Moscow’s “shadow fleet” of oil tankers.

Brussels also warned the Kremlin that it would face punitive measures if it continues to conduct “hybrid warfare” in space.

Delegates from foreign ministries in the 27-member bloc had preliminary discussions about these sanctions on Wednesday that must be approved by all members when those proposals reach the parliament’s floor.

If the measures receive sign-off, it would mark the 16th package of sanctions on Russia launched by the EU since the start of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.

The EU decided to look into these new avenues after recalcitrant member state Hungary backed down on its opposition to these sanctions on Monday.

The first action Brussels took on Wednesday was to propose to disconnect around 15 Russian banks from the SWIFT international banking system as part of the EU’s 16th sanctions package, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.

While the West has, to date, primarily targeted Russia’s energy exports and those entities supplying Moscow with drone technology and other components essential to its war machine, the new round of sanctions proposals has moved on to metals.

While oil and natural gas are, by far, the federation’s largest source of export revenues, Russia shipped about $8.2 billion of raw aluminum in 2022. In that year, it was the world’s third-largest exporter of the metal after Canada and India.

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AFP noted that the EU has already banned imports of some aluminum products from Russia. 

The diplomats also stiffened sanctions on Russia’s “shadow fleet” of aging oil tankers bringing crude to destinations in Asia in particular by adding 73 vessels to its list.

Despite the West’s attempts to squeeze down on Russia’s energy revenue, Moscow saw a 26 percent increase in oil and gas income in 2024 over the previous year, Reuters reported earlier this month, citing a rebounding price per barrel from mid-2023.

Notably, the diplomats in Brussels declined to include new sanctions on liquefied natural gas (on which Europe has been traditionally dependent for home heating, especially) despite calls from several member nations to do so. 

Another interesting line item in the sanctions proposals was a call to curb European exports of video game consoles to Russia, claiming that those devices were being repurposed by Russian forces to steer drone attacks on Ukrainian targets.

“We are looking into punitive options,” says Brussels top diplomat

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at a press conference following the meeting that Russia has been ramping up its attacks on its satellites orbiting Earth.

“We are already the targets of hybrid warfare. Including in space, with systematic jamming of satellite navigation signals,” the former Estonian prime minister said.

“There are risks to our satellites, the ground infrastructure, and our space industries from kinetic, electronic, and high-energy weapons. Espionage is a constant threat,” said Kallas.

Kallas noted that the Kremlin fired an anti-satellite missile and conducted a cyberattack on a space system just before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

 “We are looking into punitive options,” she concluded.

For his part, US President Donald Trump last week on his social media platform threatened tougher sanctions on Russia if it did not present a fair proposal to bring an end to the war.

“If we don’t make a ‘deal,’ and soon, I have no other choice but to put high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions on anything being sold by Russia to the United States,” Trump wrote.

In turn, Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin responded nonchalantly that Trump “likes these methods, at least he liked them during his first presidency.”