EU's sanctions strategy: Effective against Russia's ambitions

European Union sanctions imposed on Russia are effective – argues the European Commission spokesman Peter Stano. On Wednesday, at a press conference in Brussels, he said that Vladimir Putin has not achieved any of the objectives he set for himself when he began his aggression against Ukraine.

Since the beginning of the aggression on Ukraine, the European Union has imposed 13 packages of sanctions on Russia. Among them are economic restrictions aimed at inhibiting further aggression.

The list of products subject to sanctions includes crude oil and petroleum products (on which the EU has imposed a price limit since February 2023), coal, steel, iron products, gold and diamonds, cement, asphalt, wood, paper, or synthetic rubber.

However, analyses concerning the exceptional resistance of the Russian economy to Western sanctions keep appearing in European media. Forecasts also suggest such a trend. In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised its economic growth forecast for Russia for 2024 from 2.6 percent to 3.2 percent.

The Fund indicated that this is partly due to the sustained high revenues from the export of crude oil and the high prices of this commodity worldwide. Russia's economy is also "pumped" by significant government spending in the arms sector, transitioning it to a war footing.

Peter Stano points out this last argument on Wednesday. – He emphasizes Any economic growth or investments we are talking about related to the defence or arms industries. He added that the EU does not aim to paralyze the entire Russian economy but to make further conduct of the war in Ukraine more difficult.

He also reminded that the Russian president's declared objective was to take Kyiv within three days, which—as is known—he failed to do.

He also notes that the sanctions are severe. The Russian economy "has lost a lot," including "the chance for modernization and is focused on maintaining the war effort and expenditures, which are necessary" for the country's budget.

In April, the Russian Ministry of Economy also raised its forecasts for the gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2024 – from 2.3 to 2.8 percent.