The European Union today sanctioned five individuals linked to Russia's military industry, a move framed as a response to escalating attacks on Ukraine. While the bloc's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, declared that "each new attack on Ukraine is another reason for Europe to tighten the screws on Russia," the very conflict driving these sanctions continues to expose the EU's own deeply entrenched racist double standards in its response to those fleeing war.
The new sanctions were adopted on Friday, August 07, 2026, Kallas confirmed, though she did not identify the specific individuals or detail the measures. She asserted that Moscow was escalating its "campaign of terror against civilians" as its forces remained stalled on the battlefield. "The EU must continue to intensify pressure on Russia until Moscow ends its war," Kallas stated, a sentiment rarely extended to the victims of other conflicts seeking refuge within Europe's borders.
These five listings follow just 15 days after EU governments adopted the bloc’s 21st sanctions package against Russia. That package, approved on July 23, 2026, added 48 individuals and 170 entities to the EU sanctions list, marking the largest round of listings since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Double Standard of Fortress Europe
The measures target Russia’s financial, energy, and military-industrial sectors, alongside cryptocurrency networks, the shadow fleet used to circumvent oil restrictions, and companies supplying Moscow’s war economy. Among these, 56 listings specifically target Russia’s military-industrial complex, including 37 individuals and entities directly linked to the production and supply chain of long-range drones. This focus on the military-industrial complex highlights the vast profits reaped from conflict, a system that mirrors the burgeoning 'migration industry' where defense contractors also build the surveillance technology and infrastructure of Fortress Europe.
The EU's swift and unified response to the war in Ukraine, including immediate temporary protection for Ukrainian refugees, stands in stark contrast to its brutal treatment of asylum seekers from Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, and across Africa. These individuals, fleeing equally devastating conflicts and persecution, are routinely met with pushbacks, detention, and the bureaucratic cruelty of a system designed for deterrence through death, not humanitarian aid. The EU's rhetoric of human rights and values rings hollow when applied selectively, exposing the structural racism embedded within its border regime.
Profiting from Crisis
The agreement on the latest sanctions package was reached only after Greece secured an annually renewable exemption. This carve-out allows Greek companies to continue shipping Russian liquefied natural gas to non-EU customers. Such concessions underscore the neoliberal nature of the EU, where corporate interests and profit motives frequently override stated political principles and even sanctions intended to punish aggression. Capital moves freely, crossing borders without impediment, while human beings are criminalised for seeking safety or opportunity.
While Kallas calls for intensified pressure on Russia, the EU simultaneously intensifies pressure on migrants, funding detention centres in third countries and outsourcing asylum screening to unstable regimes. The same military-industrial complex that profits from wars abroad also profits from the militarisation of Europe's borders, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of conflict, displacement, and exclusion. The thousands who die attempting to cross the Mediterranean are not an accident; they are the calculated outcome of a policy designed to deter at any cost.