Source: EU preparing 20th package of sanctions against Russia for early 2026

The European Commission has planned to present proposals for the European Union's 20th package of sanctions against Russia after New Year celebrations, and it may be approved by the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

After the New Year, the European Commission planned to present its proposals for the new, 20th package of EU sanctions against Russia.

Diplomats told European Pravda that de facto discussions on the 20th package had not yet started, because the European Commission had not prepared the relevant proposals.

They said that the Commission did not rush with the 20th package of sanctions, because the main focus was currently on finding a solution for financing Ukraine in 2026-2027.

It was precisely because of the EU concentrating its efforts on financing Ukraine, that the presentation of the 20th package was postponed until the beginning of 2026.

Another diplomat said that most likely the draft of the new package will be ready already in January so that it can be approved by the anniversary of Russia's full-scale aggression.

He recalled that the EU had managed to agree the previous packages within a month, so this time the goal also looked realistic.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha drew attention to the fact that the Russian economy faced "dramatic problems" and in connection to this called on Western states to step up sanctions pressure on Russia and explained how this could be done.

At the same time, the European Union decided to introduce sanctions against vessels of the shadow fleet transporting Russian oil separately from the sanctions packages.