The European Union extended its individual sanctions regime against Russia by just one week, until September 22, marking an unprecedented short-term renewal during the Ukraine conflict. The stopgap measure stems from a disagreement among member states over the potential delisting of Alisher Usmanov, a Russian-Uzbek billionaire, and Mikhail Fridman, co-founder of Alfa Bank. Slovakia is pushing for their removal, with France reportedly joining the effort to delist Usmanov specifically, citing national security grounds. The sanctions list currently targets roughly 3,000 individuals and entities subject to asset freezes and travel bans. The unanimity requirement for EU sanctions decisions means any single member state can block or stall changes to the list.
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