EU removes two oligarchs from Russia sanctions list as deadline looms

What Happened

The European Union agreed before an end-of-Tuesday deadline to remove two sanctioned Russian billionaires, Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, from its Russia sanctions list, while extending restrictions on nearly 3,000 individuals and companies accused of supporting the war in Ukraine for 36 months. The compromise followed France's request to delist Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek national, on 'national security' grounds — reported to relate to a prisoner exchange deal involving French nationals and Azerbaijan — and Luxembourg's parallel request for Fridman, a Russian-Israeli magnate suing Luxembourg for $16bn over frozen assets. Latvia, facing parliamentary elections on 3 October, initially objected but agreed to abstain; Ireland's EU presidency, which brokered the talks, described it as a difficult compromise. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said no name on the sanctions list is there by accident, and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the decision 'shameful and unjustifiable', saying Moscow is celebrating division among Europeans.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The delistings create a precedent for EU member states to weaken shared sanctions in pursuit of national interests, undermining the bloc's unanimity-based sanctions regime at a critical point in the war. The extension to 36 months is intended to increase predictability, but the compromise highlights how individual capitals can extract exemptions, potentially eroding pressure on Russian elites and military industry.

Watch For

EU foreign ministers are expected to receive about 1,600 new designations targeting individuals and entities involved in the Russian military industrial complex next month, following the difficult agreement on the EU's 21st sanctions round in July. Monitor whether other member states seek similar delistings, whether Luxembourg's arbitration over Fridman's assets advances, and whether Latvia's 3 October parliamentary election affects future sanctions votes.