EU starts discussing 13th package of sanctions against Russia

The European Union has started discussions on a new sanctions package that it aims to approve by February 24 — the two-year mark for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.

Potential measures could include further listings, more trade restrictions and cracking down on Moscow’s continued ability to get around the bloc’s sanctions both through third countries and companies within the EU, according to people familiar with the matter.

The possible sanctions were discussed Wednesday at a meeting of the bloc’s ambassadors where member states haggled over how to best back Kyiv in the longer term. But reaching agreement over a 13th round of sanctions by next month won’t be easy, as the last one required weeks of negotiations.

Discussions are also ongoing over plans to establish a new fund to support Ukraine militarily that some EU nations want to use as a way to revamp the current funding mechanism, known as the European Peace Facility.

Under the EPF, member states are reimbursed for weapons they send Ukraine. The size of the facility has been expanded several times but decisions to allocate and disburse funds require unanimous backing from member states. In practice, that has allowed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban to delay or veto aid to Ukraine.