EU’s Proposed Russia Sanctions to Target More Ships

By Julia Payne and Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, April 24 (Reuters) – The European Commission is expected to propose sanctions on ships delivering North Korean military equipment to Russia as well as tankers that flout the G7 price cap on Russian oil, European Union sources said on Wednesday. 

The Commission is finalizing its proposal for a 14th package of sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.

Western powers have accused North Korea of supplying weapons, including ballistic missiles and munitions, to power Russia’s war machine. Ukraine is increasingly outgunned, with neither side able to make significant territorial gains. 

The United States said in February that North Korea had delivered more than 10,000 containers of munitions and related material since September. 

The Commission is also seeking to sanction oil tankers in the so-called “shadow fleet” that move Russian oil outside the Group of Seven countries (G7) oil price cap. 

A document showed that 40 companies are expected to be added to its list of sanctioned entities. These include Russian companies procuring equipment for the military as well as third country companies that have sold Russia electronics, semiconductors and chips that have military uses. 

The third country companies are based in the United Arab Emirates, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and China and have sold EU and U.S.-origin equipment to Russia, the document showed. 

The Commission is in discussions this week on an informal basis with EU member states before presenting its proposal to the Council for debate, the sources said.

The Commission declined to comment. 

(Reporting by Julia Payne and Kate Abnett; Editing by Jane Merriman and Alexander Smith)

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