The EU sanctions against around 1,600 Russian entrepreneurs and institutions have been extended. However, three Russians were removed from the list. What is known about her.
The European Union has lifted the sanctions imposed on three Russian entrepreneurs because of Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine. As EU diplomats confirmed on Wednesday, businessmen Grigory Bereskin, Farhad Akhmedov and Alexander Shulgin have been removed from the sanctions list. But who are the men who have now been removed from the list?
Alexander Shulgin is a leading Russian businessman and, according to the current EU sanctions list, is said to belong to the inner circle of oligarchs who are close to Putin. On February 24, 2024 – the day of the Russian attack on Ukraine – the 47-year-old took part in a meeting of oligarchs with Putin in the Kremlin. Among other things, the consequences of Western sanctions were said to have been discussed.
EU sanctions extended against 1,600 other Russians
It is not clear why the three men were removed from the list. The EU sanctions against around 1,600 other Russian entrepreneurs and institutions because of the war in Ukraine were extended by six months on Wednesday. The sanctions include entry bans and the freezing of accounts and assets. Several Russian oligarchs therefore objected to their inclusion in the EU sanctions list and sued the EU’s decision.
Germany and its EU partners had already imposed comprehensive economic sanctions against Russia since the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in 2014. With the large-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the punitive measures were further tightened with a whole series of further sanctions packages.
As a result, the Russian economy initially collapsed after the invasion of Ukraine. In the second quarter of this year, however, it recorded growth for the first time compared to the previous year at 4.9 percent.
