EU agrees 21st Russia sanctions, grants Greece LNG exemption
The EU has adopted its 21st package of sanctions against Moscow, freezing the oil price cap to shield European energy markets, but only after granting Greece a controversial shipping carve-out.
EU ambassadors signed off on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia this morning, ending weeks of delays that threatened to leave the bloc without a deal before the summer break.
The package locks the EU’s oil price cap on Russian revenues in place for another 12 months, preventing an automatic increase scheduled for August. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said the measures “continue to weaken the economic foundations of Russia’s war effort” by ensuring Moscow cannot profit from global market shocks, such as the current blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brussels is adding 32 Russian banks to its transaction ban list, alongside crypto firms and oil trading platforms. For the first time, the EU is also directly targeting vessels that assist Russia’s shadow fleet, aiming to close loopholes used to transport sanctioned crude.
The agreement required a significant economic concession to Greece, which had upheld a veto during heated talks. Athens secured a one-year exemption from an earlier measure, allowing it to continue transporting Russian liquefied natural gas to non-EU countries if the contracts predate the full-scale invasion.
This carve-out protects major Greek shipping interests, specifically the company Dynagas, which specialises in moving LNG from Russia’s Yamal fields. Greece had previously agreed in October 2025 to phase out this transport by January 2027, but reversed course to secure the exemption.
The latest round includes the highest number of individual sanctions in any package over the last four years. However, a planned formal ban on Russian ex-combatants entering the EU appears delayed, remaining only a pledge to "bring forward the necessary measures."
The European agreement came just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in Manila. Rubio told reporters the US is prepared to offer “new ideas” to break the deadlock, noting that previous proposals were “not acceptable to Ukraine at the time, and I don’t think it’d be acceptable to them either.”
Rubio described the conflict as a "very bloody war" where both sides have incentives to stop, pointing to deep strikes inside Russian territory and civilian deaths in Kyiv. He said the US will “continue to see if we can find a middle ground” if the conditions are right, a diplomatic push that parallels Europe's ongoing economic pressure campaign.
