EU Adopts Additional Sanctions Against Russia and Belarus & UK Adopts Sanctions End-Use Controls

On 23 April 2026, the Council of the European Union adopted a new package of economic sanctions against Russia, marking the twentieth sanctions package introduced since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine. The new EU measures introduce a broad range of additional sectoral restrictions, including expanded export, import, and associated services controls, as well as further designations to the EU sanctions list. On the same day, the EU also adopted a parallel set of measures targeting Belarus, aligning the EU-Belarus sanctions regime more closely with the framework applicable to Russia. Separately, the UK Government has recently introduced Sanctions End Use Controls (“SEUC”), further strengthening its trade sanctions framework.