Western sanctions are having a “significant impact” on the Russian economy, the EU’s sanctions envoy has said, ahead of the fourth anniversary of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. I think that the sanctions have really had a significant impact on the Russian economy,” he told the Guardian in a rare interview. O’Sullivan, who has more than four decades’ experience in the EU institutions, was appointed EU special envoy for sanctions in December 2022 with a remit to counter their evasion and circumvention. As of December, nearly 600 vessels were under EU sanctions. Since the full-scale invasion, India has been either the world’s first or second largest purchaser of Russian crude, heavily discounted due to the impact of western sanctions.

Source: The Guardian February 05, 2026 18:09 UTC