The EU plans to target Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in new raft of sanctions against Russia

The 10th package of European Union sanctions against Russia will ban exports of “critical” industrial goods worth EUR11 billion, target propagandists and, for the first time ever, blacklist entities linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps for aiding the Kremlin to wage war on Ukraine.

“Putin is not only waging a brutal war on the battlefield but he is also viciously targeting civilians and the aggressor has to pay for this,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said while announcing the proposal on Wednesday morning.

The banned products will include electronics, specialised vehicles, spare parts for trucks and jet engines, as well as construction tools, such as antennas and cranes, that might be redirected to the war, von der Leyen explained.

The bloc believes Russia will struggle to replace these essential Western-made products.

The package will now have to be discussed and approved by member states through a unanimity vote.

The aim is to have the new sanctions in place by the time the war marks its one-year anniversary on 24 February, von der Leyen said.

Once adopted, the EU will have banned “all” tech products found on the battlefield, she noted.

The new raft of penalties will also have a marked focus on closing up loopholes to crack down on circumvention and identify the location of the assets owned by the Russian Central Bank.

This is a developing story.