EU Sanctions Against Russia and Belarus Updated

Detected March 1st, 2026

Summary

The European Commission has updated its guidance and FAQs regarding sanctions against Russia and Belarus. These updates address specific measures such as the Nord Stream infrastructure ban, provision of services, and the oil price cap, impacting entities under EU jurisdiction.

View original document View source feed page

What changed

The European Commission has issued multiple updates and new FAQs concerning the EU's sanctions regime against Russia and Belarus. These updates, dated January 2026, clarify specific measures including the ban on Nord Stream infrastructure, guidance on the provision of services, and details on the oil price cap. The consolidated texts of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 (Russia) and Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 (Ukraine territorial integrity) are referenced, indicating ongoing amendments to these core legal acts.

Entities operating within the EU or engaging in trade with Russia and Belarus must review these latest updates to ensure compliance with the evolving sanctions landscape. Particular attention should be paid to the specific guidance on services and the oil price cap, as non-compliance can lead to significant legal and financial repercussions. The document highlights that the Council Regulations create legal obligations for all individuals, organisations, and bodies under EU jurisdiction.

What to do next

Review updated FAQs on Nord Stream infrastructure ban, provision of services, and oil price cap.
Consult consolidated texts of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 and Regulation (EU) No 269/2014 for detailed legal obligations.
Ensure all operations and transactions comply with the latest EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus.

Source document (simplified)

Latest update: 23 January 2026 - New FAQ on Nord Stream infrastructure ban
Latest update: 22 January 2026 - Update of the FAQ on provision of services
Latest update: 15 January 2026 - New FAQ on Guidance on oil price cap Previous news item Play news ticker Pause news ticker Next news item 1 of 3

We stand with Ukraine Your freedom is our freedom

Learn more

What the EU is doing and why

Since March 2014, the EU has progressively imposed restrictive measures (sanctions) against Russia, initially in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and Sevastopol and the deliberate destabilisation of Ukraine. On 23 February 2022, the EU expanded the sanctions in response to the recognition of the non-government controlled areas of the Donetsk and Luhansk ‘oblasts’ of Ukraine, and the ordering of Russian armed forces into those areas. After 24 February 2022, in response to Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, the EU massively expanded the sanctions. It added a significant number of individuals and organisations to the sanctions list, and adopted unprecedented measures with the aim of weakening Russia's economic base, depriving it of critical technologies and markets, and significantly curtailing its ability to wage war.

In parallel, the EU sanctions regime concerning Belarus has been expanded in response to the country’s involvement in Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This is in addition to the sanctions aimed at Belarus that were already in place. This sanctions regime consists of a range of financial, economic and trade measures.

The respective Council Regulations identified below are addressed to all individuals, organisations and bodies under EU jurisdiction, for which they create legal obligations.

EU sanctions map

The EU sanctions map provides comprehensive details of all EU sanctions regimes and their corresponding legal acts, including a whistleblower tool, a consolidated list of travel bans and a consolidated list of financial sanctions.

Measures adopted since 2022

17 December 2025 New shadow fleet vessels lists See the details of the new shadow fleet vessels lists.
15 December 2025 New set of sanctions against Belarus See the details of the new set of sanctions against Belarus.
15 December 2025 New set of sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet ecosystem See the details of the new set of sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet ecosystem.
23 October 2025 Nineteenth package See the details of the 19 th package of sanctions against Russia.
18 July 2025 Eighteenth package See the details of the 18 th package of sanctions against Russia.
20 May 2025 Seventeenth package See the details of the 17 th package of sanctions against Russia.
24 February 2025 Sixteenth package See the details of the 16 th package of sanctions against Russia.
16 December 2024 Fifteenth package See the details of the 15 th package of sanctions against Russia.
29 June 2024 New set of sanctions against Belarus See the details of the new set of sanctions against Belarus.
24 June 2024 Fourteenth package See the details of the 14 th package of sanctions against Russia.
17 May 2024 Sanctions against disinformation and war propaganda See the details of the sanctions against disinformation and war propaganda.
23 February 2024 Thirteenth package See the details of the 13 th package of sanctions against Russia.
18 December 2023 Twelfth package See the details of the 12 th package of sanctions against Russia.
3 August 2023 Extension of the scope of sanctions on Belarus to fight circumvention See the details for the extension of the scope of sanctions on Belarus to fight circumvention.
23 June 2023 Eleventh package See the details of the 11 th package of sanctions against Russia.
25 February 2023 Tenth package See the details of the 10 th package of sanctions against Russia.
16 December 2022 Ninth package See the details of the 9 th package of sanctions against Russia.
5 October 2022 Eighth package See the details of the 8 th package of sanctions against Russia.
21 July 2022 Maintenance and alignment package See the details of the maintenance and alignment package.
3 June 2022 Sixth package See the details of the 6 th package of sanctions against Russia.
8 April 2022 Fifth package See the details of the 5 th package of sanctions against Russia.
15 March 2022 Fourth package See the details of the 4 th package of sanctions against Russia.
9 March 2022 “Compliance package” See the details of the “Compliance package” of sanctions against Russia.
2 March and 28 February 2022 Third package See the details of the 3 rd package of sanctions against Russia.
25 February 2022 Second package See the details of the 2 nd package of sanctions against Russia.
Show 22 more items
23 February 2022 First package See the details of the 1 st package of sanctions against Russia. ## Overview of sanctions in place

Economic sanctions on Russia Oil price cap Individual sanctions Sanctions concerning the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine Sanctions on Belarus Sanctions on Iran (drones)

Guidance documents and frequently asked questions

Member States are responsible for implementing sanctions. The Commission oversees the implementation by Member States and is working closely with them in order to support them on implementation, provide information to stakeholders, and engage in a dialogue to collect feedback on how sanctions are implemented.

The Commission has published guidance and extensive FAQs (over 500) covering a broad range of topics and continues to update them, in order to assist stakeholders on how to apply the sanctions packages.

Have a look at the guidance documents

Have a look at the FAQs

Contacts

The Commission and the Member States have different contact points that can provide answers to your queries. Explore our “Contacts” page to find the right channel for your specific needs.