Editor’s Note
This article reports on the EU’s latest sanctions package targeting Russia, including a diamond ban and expanded entity listings. The Russian diplomatic response frames these measures as an admission that prior sanctions have failed. We present this as a developing story in the ongoing geopolitical situation.
The European Union decided on the 18th to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia, involving a diamond ban and placing over a hundred entities and individuals on a blacklist. The Russian diplomatic mission to the EU responded the same day, stating that the EU’s imposition of new sanctions indicates that previous punitive measures against Russia have not been effective.
This round of sanctions is the 12th imposed by the EU since Russia launched its special military operation against Ukraine in February last year. It targets Russia’s diamond and energy industries, as well as numerous enterprises and individuals. The intent is to ultimately weaken Russia’s combat capabilities in the Russia-Ukraine conflict by restricting its access to technology and goods, and striking at high-value sectors of the Russian economy.
The sanctions stipulate that starting January 1 next year, EU member states will be prohibited from importing, purchasing, or transferring natural diamonds, synthetic diamonds, and diamond jewelry from Russia for non-industrial purposes. From March 1 to September 1 next year, EU member states will gradually ban the import, purchase, and transfer of Russian-origin diamonds or diamond jewelry processed in third countries.
According to EU data, Russia’s diamond industry has an annual output value of approximately $4.5 billion. According to data from the German Press Agency (dpa), Russia’s diamond mining and processing giant Alrosa generated $3.6 billion in revenue in 2021.
This round of sanctions also requires EU companies exporting “sensitive goods or technologies” to include clauses in their contracts prohibiting buyers from reselling them to Russia. The EU is also tightening imports of goods, including copper wire, aluminum wire, and foil, which could generate significant revenue for Russia.
To better enforce the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil set last year, the EU has introduced stricter regulations in this round of sanctions, strengthening relevant information-sharing mechanisms to strictly prevent practices aimed at circumventing trade restrictions.
Although the EU decided to impose a new round of sanctions on Russia, internal divisions persist. For example, the EU had previously considered sanctions on Russia’s diamond industry but shelved them due to opposition from Belgium. The port city of Antwerp in northwestern Belgium has been one of the world’s most important diamond trading centers since the 16th century.
After the Group of Seven (G7) nations decided earlier this month to restrict imports of Russian diamonds, Belgium shifted its stance to support the sanctions.
Furthermore, during the EU’s consultations on this round of sanctions against Russia, Austria once raised objections but later relented. Earlier this year, when the EU discussed whether frozen Russian assets and reserves worth hundreds of billions of euros could be used for Ukraine’s reconstruction, Austria voiced opposition, stating that the EU would be “ashamed” for stealing Russian assets.
The Russian diplomatic mission to the EU issued a statement on the 18th regarding the new EU sanctions, stating that the Russian economy has not “collapsed,” attempts to isolate Russia on the international stage, including within the EU, have failed, and the goal of inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia has not succeeded. Russia also condemned the sanctions as the EU’s “illegal extraterritorial restrictions, political blackmail, and neocolonial practices.”
Regarding the sanctions against Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed “gratitude” to the EU, stating that this would help weaken Russia’s economic funds and constrain its battlefield performance.
At this stage, the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to drag on, with the battlefield situation deadlocked. A senior Ukrainian frontline commander recently admitted that Ukrainian forces are facing shortages of artillery shells and manpower on the front lines, forcing them to contract their defensive positions.
