The EU adopted by written procedure, on Thursday 14 March with publication in the Official Journal of the EU on 15 March, sanctions against eight Russian officials and military personnel (see EUROPE 12204/17) for having had a role, at the end of November, in actions that “prevented Ukrainian vessels from accessing their coastline on the Sea of Azov, thereby compromising the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and compromising Ukraine's security”.
On Sunday 25 November, Russia captured three Ukrainian ships attempting to cross the Kerch Strait after shooting them. 24 Ukrainian sailors have since been imprisoned in Russia (see EUROPE 12146/18).
These restrictive measures are a response to “escalation in the Kerch Straits and the Azov Sea and the violations of international law by Russia, which used military force with no justification”, the EU Council statement said.
Among those sanctioned were Sergey Nikolayevich Stankevich, Chief Executive Officer of the Russian Federal Security Service for the Republic of Crimea' and the City of Sevastopol, and his deputy, Andrey Borisovich Shein. Three commanders of border patrol vessels and one Russian anti-submarine warfare vessel, Aleksey Mikhailovich Salyev, Andrei Shipitsin and Sergey Alekseevich Shcherbakov, are also subject to restrictive measures. The same applies to two heads of Russian checkpoint services, Aleksey Vladimirovich Shatokhin, and Ruslan Alexandrovich Romashkin, and to Aleksandr Vladimirovich Dvornikov, a commander of the Russian armed forces responsible for military forces in the region, including Crimea and Sevastopol, which were illegally annexed.
The EU Council also extended for six months, until 15 September 2019, restrictive measures – visa ban and assets freeze – against the 170 persons and 44 entities sanctioned for actions that compromise or threaten Ukraine's territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence. One person, deceased, was removed from the list. EU operators are also prohibited from making funds available to listed persons and entities.
In addition, the Foreign Affairs Council on 18 March will commemorate the five years of the illegal annexation of Crimea. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)