EU agrees to drop Usmanov and Fridman from Russia sanctions list
The delisting comes as the EU extends sanctions on roughly 3,000 other Russian-linked individuals and entities for three years, Reuters reports via 93.3 The Drive.
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The European Union has agreed to remove Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from its Russia sanctions list. EU envoys finalised the deal on Tuesday after Latvia dropped its objection, according to Reuters, via Global Banking and Finance. Sanctions decisions require unanimity among member states.
The EU sanctioned both men in 2022 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, freezing their EU-based assets and imposing travel bans, citing Usmanov's ties to Vladimir Putin and Fridman's support for actions that threatened Ukraine's territorial integrity, United24 Media reported, citing Reuters. In 2024 the EU General Court overturned the sanctions against Fridman covering February 2022 to March 2023 for lack of evidence, though later Council decisions kept him listed, Yahoo News reported.
France pushed for Usmanov's removal, citing national security concerns and pressure over French citizens detained in Azerbaijan, while Luxembourg sought Fridman's delisting separately; he has filed a $16 billion arbitration claim against Luxembourg over his frozen assets there, Euronews reported. The two removals are bundled into a wider decision to extend sanctions on about 3,000 other Russian-linked individuals and entities for three years, a longer renewal period than the EU's usual six or twelve months, Reuters reported via 93.3 The Drive.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called the delisting unacceptable, saying Usmanov and Fridman are part of the Russian regime waging war on Ukraine and that removing them sends the wrong signal to Moscow, according to 112.ua. The move follows EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas' call on Monday for tougher sanctions on Russia and a larger EU naval presence in the Red Sea. It also comes alongside other signs of diplomatic movement, including planned talks between Sergei Lavrov and Marco Rubio and Ukraine's stated openness to ceasefire discussions. Without a broader sanctions rollback or concrete progress in negotiations, the delisting looks symbolic rather than market-moving, and it sits uneasily with Kallas' push for more pressure on Moscow, exposing a crack in the EU's sanctions unity.