The Council of the European Union on Thursday, July 20, decided to prolong by six months, until January 31, 2024, the restrictive measures targeting specific sectors of the economy of the Russian Federation.

These sanctions, first introduced in 2014 in response to Russia's actions destabilizing the situation in Ukraine, were significantly expanded since February 2022, in response to Russia's unprovoked and unjustified military aggression against Ukraine, the Council said in a press release.

"They currently consist of a broad spectrum of sectoral measures, including restrictions on trade, finance, technology and dual-use goods, industry, transport and luxury goods. They also cover: a ban on the import or transfer of seaborne crude oil and certain petroleum products from Russia to the EU, a de-SWIFTing of several Russian banks, and the suspension of the broadcasting activities and licenses of several Kremlin-backed disinformation outlets," it said.

Additionally, specific measures were introduced to strengthen the ability of the EU to counter sanctions circumvention.

Since February 24, 2022, the EU has adopted eleven unprecedented and hard-hitting packages of sanctions in response to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.