The EU Council issued its eight package of sanctions against Russia

In light of Russia's escalating aggression, its illegitimate annexation of Ukrainian territories on the basis of fictitious "referendums," the enlistment of 300,000 reservists, threats of nuclear weapon use, and sabotage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the Council issued its eighth package of economic and individual sanctions against Russia.

The package includes a series of measures aimed at tightening pressure on the Russian government and economy and at weakening the Kremlin's military abilities. "Russia has taken the invasion of Ukraine to a new level, we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

The core of the package is the further restriction of trades, which "will cost the Kremlin an additional 7 billion euros in revenue." Further isolation of the Russian economy is planned to deprive the Kremlin's military complex of key technologies. "These are additional aviation products, electronic components, and specific chemicals," von der Leyen announced in advance. Additional restrictions have been introduced on imports of wood pulp and paper, cigarettes, plastics and cosmetics, items used in the jewelry industry such as precious stones and metals, which stand for the major revenue for the Kremlin. Furthermore, a "cap on the price of Russian oil for third countries" will be introduced in the package; the price cap will significantly reduce Russian revenue from gas exports. "We have already decided to ban the transportation of Russian crude oil by sea to the European Union as of Dec. 5," von der Leyen said, adding, "We are laying the legal foundation for this oil price cap."

Additionally, a ban will be introduced on European citizens holding positions in the governing bodies of Russian state-owned entities or bodies and providing architectural and engineering services, or IT and legal consulting services in Russia because Moscow "should not benefit from European knowledge and expertise." Then, efforts to fight the non-compliance with the restrictive measures will be intensified. "We are adding a new category, with which we will be able to file people who deny our sanctions," for example, those who buy goods in the EU and transport them to Russia via third countries. "I think it will have a great deterrent effect, making it even more difficult for Putin to sustain the war," she added.

Individuals who took part in organizing the sham referendums aimed at annexing Ukrainian territories are being sanctioned. "The Kremlin is following the same path, already seen in Georgia in 2008 and Crimea in 2014," High Representative Borrell said, adding "I am sure I can speak on behalf of the member states of the European Union, that none of them will recognize the falsified result of the sham referendums" in the occupied Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Individual sanctions will also be directed at high-level Russian Defense Ministry officials and well-known figures who spread disinformation about the war.

EU sanctions against Russia are proving to be effective. "On sanctions, the EU institutions have so far shown the necessary unity, leadership, pragmatism and realism, we need to make sure that we continue to have important support for these measures. But as we have already said, in parallel today we need the EU to concretize measures to support businesses and families," Marco Zanni, Carroccio MEP and chairman of the Identity and Democracy Group, commented in his speech at today's plenary. "We need that the burden of these measures does not fall on citizens, who are expecting hard times ahead of winter." Hungary, on the other hand, sharply criticized the effect of the sanctions. Hungarian Prime Minister Orban's spokesman Zoltan Kovacs wrote in a tweet, quoting the Foreign Ministry: "The new EU sanctions do not harm Hungary's interests as exemptions have been granted from any new EU sanctions that would have violated Hungary's interests and endangered the security of our energy supply."