The EU capitals are set to ban arms trade with Russia today as part of the latest package of sanctions against the Kremlin, six EU officials and diplomats told POLITICO.
The latest ban on the import and export of weapons is set out in Article 2 of the sanctions package seen by POLITICO. It excludes the direct or indirect supply, export or sale of arms, ammunition, equipment, military vehicles and spare parts to Russia – with some exceptions.
The ban extends to other services within the military market, such as brokerage and technical assistance. It is also prohibited to finance military activities with Russia through grants, loans, insurance or guarantees. It closely reflects a 2014 arms embargo, but abolishes a clause allowing existing contracts to continue.
“This is about closing the windows to avoid bypassing the sanctions that are already in place,” said one of the diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, as the latest sanctions package has not yet been fully released.
But the fact that these gaps persisted even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 threatens to embarrass EU leaders. increase arms supplies to Ukraine.
The EU Council of Governors did not mention the ban in an earlier press release today, focusing instead on banning Russian coal imports and restricting cryptocurrency trading. The full bureaucracy will be made public later in the day.
Another diplomat suggested that the ban had been removed from the press release to avoid attention in the arms trade between some EU capitals and Russia, despite a similar embargo that emerged when Moscow decided to annex Crimea in 2014.
A Disclose journalistic investigation, for example, found that the French Ministry of Defense had sold 152 million euros worth of military equipment to Moscow between 2015 and 2020. The equipment sold included thermal cameras for tanks and infrared sensors for fighter jets, aircraft and aircraft. research. Investigate Europe also showed that the EU continued to supply arms to Russia despite the 2014 embargo.
The ministry denied violating the sanctions, as it honored agreements signed between Paris and Moscow before 2014.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba expressed outrage that some Russian vehicles in the war used spare parts for the German company Bosch. The company did not respond to a request for comment from POLITICO, but had earlier told German media that it would investigate the components and insisted it was no longer making new deliveries.
Lili Bayer contributed to the petition.
