By Julia Payne
BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union adopted on Tuesday its 17th package of sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The package hits 75 entities with full-fledged sanctions that include asset freezes and financing bans, bringing the total listing to over 2,400 entities and individuals.
EU countries also adopted three other sets of measures to tackle chemical weapons, human rights abuses and hybrid threats.
Here are the key details:
SHADOW FLEET, OIL
* 189 shadow fleet vessels added to list, including 183 oil tankers. The vessels help Moscow keep its crude exports flowing, circumventing Western sanctions.
* EU now lists 342 Russian shadow fleet vessels, including tankers and vessels moving military equipment
* New listings include major Russia oil company Surgutneftegaz and Russian shipping firm Insurance Joint Stock Company “VSK”
* Eiger Shipping DMCC, the Dubai shipping arm of Russian oil trader Litasco. Litasco is the trading arm of Russia’s No. 2 oil producer Lukoil
* Four companies involved in managing Russia’s shadow fleet: two in the United Arab Emirates, one in Turkey and one in Hong Kong
MILITARY INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
* EU lists six companies in China: three for providing high-tech machine tools and three for supplying critical components, including for drones
* One company in Belarus that exports military equipment to Russia and an Israeli firm involved in sanctions circumvention and supplying products for Russia’s military
* One Russian gold mining entity Petropavlovsk
* 31 entities will face stricter export restrictions on dual-use goods and technology, with 13 from outside Russia and the EU: six in Turkey, three in Vietnam, two in UAE, one in Uzbekistan and one in Serbia
HYBRID THREATS REGIME
* EU adds 27 entities and individuals to its hybrid threat sanctions framework for facilitating violence in the EU, Ukraine and Africa
* These include a Turkish media entity and an individual for involvement in German demonstrations
* A British web-hosting entity involved in cyberattacks and two Moldovan nationals
* Individuals linked to activities in Africa including a Russian news agency and an NGO in Central African Republic
* Sets up new legal basis for future sanctions relating to fleets that aim to hit infrastructure (undersea cables, airports and servers), financial enablers and propaganda outlets
CHEMICALS AND HUMAN RIGHTS REGIMES
* Three listings in Russia for production of riot control gas used in the battlefield
* 28 listings for human rights, including individuals involved in politically motivated trials
* The human rights listing includes 20 judges and prosecutors involved in the cases against Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny who died last year
(Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Richard Chang, Alexandra Hudson)
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