The EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia was significantly weakened before its adoption. At Bulgaria’s request, the bloc removed Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill, former Lukoil president and current shareholder Vagit Alekperov, and the head of a company supplying metro components to Sofia from the sanctions list.

The EU also decided to apply entry bans to a much smaller number of Russian military personnel than originally planned.

Despite calls for tougher economic measures, the bloc is not expected to introduce strict restrictions on Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) or the tankers transporting it. Instead, member states agreed in principle to temporarily lower the price cap on Russian crude oil to $44.1 per barrel.

Internal disagreements remain unresolved. Austria continues to push for lifting sanctions and unfreezing the assets of Rasperia, a Russian investment company linked to oligarch Oleg Deripaska. The company is pursuing legal claims worth more than €1.5 billion against the Austrian bank Raiffeisen’s local subsidiary.

At the same time, the EU is introducing new sanctions over Russia’s unlawful detention of Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war, as well as sanctions targeting Russian intelligence groups, hackers, and private companies accused of carrying out long-running cyberattacks against EU member states. The United Kingdom has joined these measures, while France announced it will summon the Russian ambassador in response to the cyber campaign.

While the package includes new sanctions, multiple exemptions, concessions to individual member states, and the absence of meaningful restrictions on Russian LNG have substantially reduced its overall impact and weakened pressure on Russia.