Czech government backs new EU sanctions against Russia

The Czech government supports the European Commission's proposed new package of sanctions against Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO) told the Senate ahead of next week's European Council meeting. The measures target Russia's energy and banking sectors, the so-called shadow fleet used to circumvent oil sanctions, and imports of Russian and Belarusian fish. The package would also add more than 30 Russian banks to the sanctions list and, for the first time, ban entry into the EU for anyone who has served in the Russian military since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.