EU extends economic sanctions against Russia
The European Union has extended economic sanctions against Russia for another 6 months in connection with the situation in eastern Ukraine, said the Council of the European Union in a statement.
The decision was taken after the latest assessment of the state of implementation of the Minsk agreements, which require Russia to hand over control of the border in the Donbas region to Kyiv.
During a video conference on June 19, EU leaders stated that the agreements concluded in 2015 remain unfulfilled by the Russian side, and therefore they "made a political decision to extend the sanction measures".
These are the sanctions which were imposed in July 2014 in response to the downing of on Malaysian Boeing over the Donbas.
Unlike the measures for the annexation of Crimea, which extended to individuals from President Vladimir Putin's entourage, the second sanctions package hit Russian state banks and commodity state-owned companies, banning them from borrowing capital and financing in Europe longer than 14 and 30 days, respectively.
Sanctions also included "direct or indirect export or transfer of any material that may be used for military purposes" as well as dual-use goods which might be intended to use by the Russian military. In addition, sanctions prohibit the supply to Russia of technologies for the energy sector, in particular oil production and oil and gas exploration, the EU Council stresses.