Swiss Sanctions Against Russia – Further Alignment With The EU 15th Sanctions Package

1. Introduction

On 12 February 2025, the Swiss Federal Council adopted further sanctions against Russia with a view to mirroring the latest measures imposed by the EU on 16 December 2024. The corresponding amendments to the Ordinance on measures in connection with the situation in Ukraine ("UKRO") entered into force on 13 February 2025.

This follows previous sanctions update from 23 December 2024, when Switzerland aligned its financial sanctions lists with the EU by imposing additional asset freezes and travel bans on 54 individuals and 30 entities involved in Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. At that time, 52 new vessels were also targeted notably due to their role in transporting Russian crude oil, petroleum products and goods and technology used in the Russian defence and security sectors.