EU member states’ representatives at the Council of the EU have agreed to expand sanctions against Belarus in response to the cross-border flights of smugglers’ meteorological balloons into Lithuania. The news was reported by RFE/RL journalist Rikard Jozwiak. Formal approval is expected next week.
As RFE/RL noted earlier, the EU has been considering a new sanctions framework targeting violations of borders, airspace, and other hybrid attacks. Lithuania had additionally proposed banning imports of nitrogen fertilizers and rapeseed oil from Belarus, as well as restricting operations of 10 Belarusian banks. It is not yet clear which exact measures were agreed today.
EU ambassadors also approved additional sanctions against Russia. According to Rikard Jozwiak, the updated lists will include nine individuals and entities servicing the so-called “shadow fleet,” another 42 vessels of that fleet, and 12 individuals and two entities involved in destabilising the EU. Those targeted include GRU officers, members of the Valdai Club, and representatives in the US, France and Switzerland working for Russia.
