European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has said the EU is preparing a major expansion of sanctions listings against Russia for this autumn, signalling another significant escalation in the bloc’s sanctions programme.
In comments reported by Reuters on 17 August 2026 from an interview with German newspaper Die Welt, Kallas said she intends to put forward what she described as the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine. If adopted, the new measures would increase the total number of sanctioned Russian entities by around one third.
The proposal has not yet been adopted by the Council of the European Union, and Kallas did not provide a detailed timetable or identify the entities expected to be added. The announcement should therefore be treated as a policy signal and planned sanctions initiative rather than a final sanctions package.
Builds on July’s 21st sanctions package
The planned autumn listings would follow the EU’s 21st sanctions package against Russia, adopted on 23 July 2026. That package included the bloc’s largest number of listings in four years and expanded restrictions across Russia’s energy, financial-services, military-industrial and crypto sectors.
The July measures targeted more than 100 banks and crypto operators, over 40 vessels associated with Russia’s shadow fleet, several oil refineries in Russia and Belarus, and more than 50 military-industrial entities linked to weapons and drone production. The package also tightened measures aimed at financial and cryptocurrency channels used to support the Russian economy and evade existing restrictions.
Kallas said Western sanctions have already cost Russia more than €1 trillion and argued that pressure should continue to increase until the war ends. The precise methodology behind that estimate was not detailed in the latest remarks.
For sanctions compliance teams, the announcement is an early signal to prepare for another potentially large wave of additions to EU sanctions lists. Firms with exposure to Russian counterparties, complex ownership structures or cross-border payment chains may need to plan for rapid screening and customer-risk updates once any new listings are formally adopted.
