EU hits Russian drone supplies in latest round of sanctions

New measures included adding almost 200 individuals and entities to an asset freeze and visa blacklist

The latest sanctions were imposed after Russia carried out another wave of strikes against Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure. AP

The European Union on Friday imposed another round of sanctions on Russia, including restricting the export of drone engines to it or countries such as Iran.

The measure was part of the ninth wave of sanctions the EU has issued against Russia since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

The effort is the latest attempt to impede Moscow's ability to wage war on its neighbour.

Some EU states complained it was a “missed opportunity” after states such as Belgium and the Netherlands demanded exemptions from earlier sanctions on fertiliser producers.

They said that the easing was needed to smooth the export of agricultural products to the rest of the world and reduce the risk of famine — an argument rejected by Poland and Lithuania.

The dispute held up the approval of the sanctions until an EU leaders summit on Thursday.

The new measures include adding almost 200 individuals and entities to an asset freeze and visa blacklist.

“This includes the Russian armed forces, as well as individual officers and defence industrial companies, members of the State Duma and Federation Council, ministers, Russian proxy authorities in occupied areas of Ukraine and political parties, among others,” the EU said.

The coffin of Valeriy Krasnyan is brought out of St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv. Getty Images

Repairmen work near a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod, outside of Kyiv. AFP

An elderly man walks in front of a residential building damaged following a missile attack in Vyshgorod. AFP

A boy kisses a dog while he charges his phone at the heating tent dubbed a Point of Invincibly in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

A couple uses a laptop in the heating tent. AP

Workers dig out a tire from the rubble of a destroyed storage building at a grain processing center so they can use it for repairs in Siversk, Donetsk region. Reuters

The Chernihiv region found itself on the frontline of Russia's invasion in February, when Moscow's forces were attempting to quickly seize Kyiv. Getty

Russia ultimately retreated from northern Ukraine to focus its attack on the east and south. Getty

The city of Chernihiv on November 28, 2022 in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Getty

A worker fits in new windows of a building in Chernihiv. Getty

People receive food from AFAT - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency in Chernihiv. Getty

The people Chernihiv queue up for hot food. Getty

Oleksandr Antonenko stands on a balcony of his apartment damaged by a recent Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters

Mr Antonenko and his mother Liudmyla inside their apartment recently damaged by a Russian military strike in Kherson. Reuters

A woman walks in an underpass in Kyiv, on November 26, 2022. AFP

Friends hug after the arrival of a train in the southern city of Kherson. Getty

Residents sort through donated clothing at an aid centre in Kherson. Getty

A Ukrainian soldier stands with a machinegun near Liman in the Donetsk region. AP

Children attend a physical education class at Spilno School in Kyiv. Getty

A woman embraces her friend, a soldier in the Ukrainian army, in Kherson. AFP

Residents inspect a crater left by a Russian military strike in the village of Komyshuvakha in the Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters

Resident Tetiana Reznychenko walks past a work by world-renowned graffiti artist Banksy, on the wall of a destroyed building in the Ukrainian village of Horenka. Reuters

Ukrainian soldiers fire artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. AP

A fisherman sails his boat on the Dnipro as black smoke rises from an oil reserve in Kherson. AFP

Three banks were hit, including the Russian Regional Development Bank, in an effort to “further paralyse [President Vladimir] Putin's cash machines”.

Four more Russian television chains were also barred from broadcasting in the bloc.

In terms of broader economic sanctions, new EU investments in the Russian mining sector were banned, except for “certain raw materials”.

The export of more dual-use goods that could serve Moscow's war effort were also prohibited, and EU firms were prevented from offering services such as market research and advertising.

The latest sanctions were imposed after Moscow carried out another wave of strikes against Ukraine's civilian energy infrastructure.

The EU has imposed eight rounds of sanctions on Russia since the invasion, including on its oil exports.

Diplomats said that the bloc is running out of ways to hurt the Russian economy as the war drags towards its 10th month.

The bloc has shied away from hitting Russian gas supplies out of fear of further pushing up energy prices. It has also steered clear of sectors important to individual member states, such as diamonds.

The EU, along with its partners in the G7, introduced measures last week aimed at capping the price of Russian oil sold on the world market in an effort to limit funds for the Russia military.

The bloc's ban on seaborne crude imports from Russia also came into force, after initially being agreed to early this year.