EU’s Largest Russia Sanctions Listings: Implications For India

1. Introduction

On 12 October 2026, the Council of the European Union (the “EU Council”) adopted sanctions against 1,569 individuals and entities in Russia’s military-industrial complex. ¹ The EU Council has described these measures as the single largest set of listings that the European Union (the “EU”) has ever agreed. The High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Kaja Kallas, has called them the single largest expansion of the EU sanctions list since the war in Ukraine began. ²

These new measures name only Russian companies and individuals. However, since February 2024, the EU Council has regularly named entities outside the EU and Russia, including entities in India, in its sanctions packages against Russia. Given this practice, we expect that the EU Council could name third-country entities again in its next round of measures.