BRUSSELS, September 15 — The European Union is preparing a broad new package of sanctions against Russia and is weighing a measure with no real precedent in its sanctions arsenal: a blanket ban on Russian military personnel entering EU territory. The proposal, confirmed in statements from EU officials, would prevent Russian soldiers and officers from travelling to EU countries. Officials describe it as an attempt to limit the movement of individuals involved in the war in Ukraine.
No final decision has been made, and no final list of measures has been published.
A departure from the targeted approach
Until now, the bloc’s sanctions have centred on asset freezes and travel bans aimed at specific named individuals. The EU has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individuals and entities, among them President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and has frozen billions of euros in Russian central bank assets. A blanket ban on military personnel would mark a significant escalation precisely because it targets a broad category of people rather than a list of names.
If adopted, the measure would apply to Russian military personnel seeking entry to the Schengen Area, which includes most EU countries plus some non-EU states. The zone permits passport-free travel among its members, and such a ban would be enforced at its external borders.
The EU has already suspended a visa facilitation agreement with Russia, making it harder for Russian citizens to obtain visas. A full ban on military personnel would go further.
Trade, technology and money
The package under discussion is expected to include further restrictions on trade, technology transfers and financial transactions. It would build on successive rounds adopted since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022 — measures that have targeted Russian oil imports, banks, oligarchs and military supply chains. The bloc has banned imports of Russian crude oil and refined petroleum products, with some exemptions for pipeline oil to landlocked member states, and has worked to reduce its energy dependence on Russia through the REPowerEU plan.
Unanimity is the hard part. All 27 member governments must approve sanctions, and negotiations among them are ongoing.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, prepares the proposals; the Council of the EU, representing member states, adopts them. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy coordinates foreign policy in the process, while the European Commissioner for Trade handles trade-related measures. The High Representative has stressed the importance of unity among member states in responding to Russian aggression.
Against this backdrop, the discussions are unfolding as fighting continues in Ukraine, including in the eastern Donbas region and southern areas, where Russian and Ukrainian forces have been engaged in intense battles. The EU has provided military and financial aid to Ukraine and has committed billions of euros since February 2022.
It has also imposed sanctions on Belarus, Russia’s ally, for its role in the invasion, and has coordinated some measures with the United States, the United Kingdom and other allies to avoid evasion.
What is at stake
Russia has criticised the sanctions and retaliated with its own economic measures, while seeking to deepen ties with countries including China and India. The EU’s sanctions regime is reviewed regularly and requires periodic renewal, which the bloc has consistently granted. Separately, the EU has considered using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s reconstruction, though legal and technical challenges remain.
Watch the coming meetings of EU foreign ministers and leaders. Officials have announced no final date for adoption, but discussions are expected to continue in the coming weeks, with the package potentially adopted in the weeks or months that follow — depending, as ever in Brussels, on whether all 27 can stay in the same room.
