EU renews Russia sanctions but grudgingly drops 2 oligarchs from list

The European Union extended sanctions on more than 3,000 Russian individuals and entities for three years, but removed billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list. France reportedly pushed for Usmanov's removal as part of a deal that led Azerbaijan to pardon a French citizen jailed for espionage, while Luxembourg sought Fridman's delisting tied to his fight to unfreeze $16 billion in assets there.

Latvia held up the whole package over the removals before accepting a three-year extension instead of the usual six-month renewal, plus a French pledge to discuss nuclear and air-defense cooperation. Ukrainian President Zelensky called the move suicidal and counterproductive, and critics said it hands Moscow a template: detain a European citizen, pressure a capital, and watch the sanctions list get shorter.

China continues buying Russian oil and gas despite the sanctions regime, and Russia's shadow fleet keeps shipping above the Western price cap. A new U.S. law lets Trump levy tariffs up to 100% on buyers of Russian energy, though its bite against established evasion tactics remains untested.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.