Overview
- EU leaders cleared a €90 billion loan for Ukraine and adopted a new sanctions round that targets Russian energy earnings and enforcement gaps.
- The loan covers Ukraine’s 2026–2027 budget and defense production and requires rule‑of‑law steps including anti‑corruption measures.
- The sanctions expand limits on Russia’s oil and gas trade by banning maintenance and other services for Russian LNG tankers and ice‑breakers and by blocking transactions tied to the ports of Murmansk, Tuapse and Indonesia’s Karimun.
- Officials added 120 names to the blacklist, including 27 entities from mainland China and Hong Kong accused of helping Russia evade controls, and China protested then put several European defense and aerospace firms on its export control list within 24 hours.
- The deal moved after Hungary dropped its holdout following repairs on the Druzhba oil pipeline, as Russia’s economy showed strain with repeated rate cuts, a reported early‑year contraction and a Kremlin push for explanations from economic officials.