EU extends sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopol

The Council of the European Union extended sanctions against Crimea and Sevastopol, originally introduced in June 2014 as part of the community's strategy to not recognize the peninsula joining Russia, for another 12 months, according to a statement published on Monday.

"The Council has today decided to renew the sanctions introduced by the EU in response to the illegal annexation of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, until 23 June 2023," the statement said.

According to the EU Council, "As stated by Josep Borrell, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in his Declaration on behalf of the EU on 25 February 2022, eight years since the violent, illegal annexation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol by the Russian Federation, the EU does not recognize and continues to condemn the illegal annexation of the Crimean Peninsula as a serious violation of international law."