The European Commission proposed its ninth sanctions package against Russia on December 7, adding more than 200 individuals to the bloc’s existing sanctions list of 1,200 names. While the total number is large, the proposal focuses specifically on military commanders who ordered cruise missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and officials who manage camps where Ukrainian children are being forcibly transferred and re-educated inside Russia. The draft list includes senior officers whose units fired missiles at apartment buildings and energy plants.
It also names administrators involved in moving children from occupied Ukrainian territory to Russian facilities, where they receive Russian documents and Russian-language instruction. The European Commission described these individuals as “directly responsible” for the recent wave of attacks on Ukraine’s power grid.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters the package targets those who enable President Vladimir Putin’s war effort, not only those directly involved in combat. She said the new designations aim to close loopholes that have allowed some military-linked officials to travel to or hold funds in the European Union. If approved, the asset freezes and visa bans would apply to figures from major pro-Kremlin parties including United Russia, the Liberal Democratic Party, and A Just Russia.
Regional governors, State Duma deputies, and ministers are among those listed. The timing coincides with Russia’s weeks-long campaign against Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure, which has left millions without power and heat during winter.
The commission argued that officials responsible for those attacks should not be able to vacation in southern France or maintain bank accounts in Europe. Beyond the personal sanctions, the ninth package targets Russia’s military supply chain. Brussels seeks to halt shipments of drone engines to Russia and to third countries including Iran.
The proposal would ban new European investment in Russian mining and expand broadcasting restrictions on Kremlin-backed media outlets. The draft measures also target additional Russian banks and defense companies that have previously avoided the full scope of EU sanctions.
All 27 EU member states must approve the package unanimously, a requirement that has slowed previous rounds. Hungary has sought exemptions for its own industries in earlier negotiations. The commission is pushing for a decision before the end of the year.
This ninth package represents the most detailed EU sanctions effort regarding individual accountability. Earlier rounds focused on oligarchs and senior Kremlin officials.
The current proposal reaches the operational level: commanders who give orders, governors who enforce policies, and party loyalists who vote for war budgets. The forced transfer of Ukrainian children is a new emphasis in the sanctions. The draft list includes officials managing what the EU calls re-education camps inside Russia.
The commission views this as a deportation policy rather than a humanitarian effort. The looting of Ukrainian grain also features in the new designations.
Russian forces have systematically seized agricultural produce from occupied territories and shipped it abroad. The EU wants to freeze the assets of those overseeing these operations. The commission’s proposal aims to close gaps that have allowed drone engines from Iran to reach Russian factories, mining investment to continue flowing, and Kremlin propaganda to broadcast into Europe. The vote now moves to member states, where unanimity is required but not guaranteed.
