Description: The Polish presidentship of the European Union has announced the decisions of the EU ambassadors to impose the 16th sanctions package on Russia. Sanctions would be additionally imposed on 73 ships of Russia’s shadow fleet used to transport goods such as LNG or LPG from sanctioned Russian companies as well as other legal entities and individuals. The sanctions package would also undertake the exclusion of 13 Russian banks from the SWIFT system while up to 8 Russian media outlets and 11 ports would also be added to the sanctioned list. The package comes on the brink of the three-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine and in line with recent rifts in policy between EU and the US.
Impact: With EU countries continued imposition of fresh sanctions on Russian entities, the allied gap between EU countries and the US expands further. US President Donald Trump adoption of unilateral foreign policy methods has started to take effect as EU nations mobilize towards forming their own position regarding the war. Russia’s positive outlook on future negotiations after reestablishing bilateral relations with the US puts the country in a severely advantageous position moving forward. Trump’s political fraternizing with Putin could lead Europe towards adopting their own unilateral modus of conducting foreign policy which could lead to further divisions and put Ukraine in internationally precarious position.