The EU Council has imposed sanctions on ten Russian citizens it links to repression of the democratic opposition and the persecution of members of the Yabloko party.
This is stated in a statement by the Council of the European Union.
The sanctions list includes three judges of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation and an official from Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office, involved in the decision to bar Yabloko from the State Duma elections in September 2026.
The Russian authorities justified the decision, among other things, by alleging copyright infringements, extremism and other offences.
The EU noted that Yabloko was one of the last opposition political forces in Russia and the only party that openly opposed Russia’s war against Ukraine. The EU believes that barring the party’s candidates on the federal list further limited the choices available to Russian voters.
Separately, the list includes a judge who handed down the sentence against Yabloko deputy chair Lev Shlosberg. He was sentenced to 11 years and one month in prison under articles on “discrediting” the Russian army and spreading so-called “fake news” about the war against Ukraine.
Also sanctioned are the Russian state prosecutor who sought that punishment for Shlosberg, as well as judges involved in proceedings against other party members, Maksim Kruglov and Nikolai Rybakov.
The measures provide for the freezing of assets belonging to those listed. EU citizens and companies are prohibited from making funds, financial assets or other economic resources available to them.
Following the new decision, EU sanctions under the regime introduced over the human rights situation in Russia now apply in total to 108 individuals and seven legal entities.
- Ukraine imposed sanctions on 44 individuals involved in organising illegal “elections” to the Russian State Duma in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.