© Eduardo Munoz/Reuters
© Dave Sanders for The New York Times
The EU's ambassadors failed again on 11 September to extend the bloc's sanctions on individual Russians, days before the listings lapse, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's Europe editor Rikard Jozwiak. Slovakia wants two Russian oligarchs delisted, and France now backs the same for one of them, Alisher Usmanov. The EU listed him in 2022 as a pro-Kremlin oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Paris has called for the delisting of Usmanov, an Uzbek-born multi-billionaire under EU sanctions since the full-scale invasion in 2022, four EU diplomats told Euronews. His money came out of metals and mining and later out of telecoms and tech holdings. Usmanov denies being close to the Kremlin. Forbes ranks him 10th among Russia's wealthiest people this year, at $14.5 billion.
One diplomat, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of the discussions, said the request raised questions about the motive and that it "seems mostly economic reasons at play here." All four diplomats described huge frustration among other member states, against the background of Russia's widening hybrid attacks in Europe, among them the explosive-laden drone found beside a Ukrainian cargo plane at Leipzig airport. A French official said Paris supports renewing the sanctions but would not discuss the negotiations.
Bratislava has pushed for years to remove both Usmanov and a second Russian oligarch, Mikhail Fridman, and it repeated the demand when the sanctions were last extended in March. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico's government has threatened to block EU decisions on Ukraine before, and it halted all military aid to Kyiv in January. It has opposed the rollover across several ambassadors' meetings and wants the six-month review cycle kept.
Paris pitched the move as a political trade-off, wagering that Bratislava would stand by both of its delisting demands this time instead of dropping them as it did at the last renewal, Euronews reported.
The deadline falls on 15 September. The listings at stake cover around 2,600 people and companies by the Council's own count, while Euronews puts the whole regime at more than 3,000, from arms-industry firms to individuals the bloc blames for sustaining the war against Ukraine. Individual listings have run in six-month blocks, and a 12-month cycle is now under discussion. The bloc's economic measures switched to annual renewals over the summer, and a July package added 218 names. Renewal requires unanimity, so one capital can let everything lapse. Ambassadors return to it on Monday.
Recordings of a 2024 call, published this spring, showed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov asking Hungary's then-foreign minister, Péter Szijjártó, to help remove Usmanov's sister, Gulbahor Ismailova, from the list. The Hungarian minister replied that his country and Slovakia were submitting a delisting proposal together. Ismailova came off the list in March 2025.
Russia's foreign minister says the war has to end so that "no more Nazism" is left in Europe. Sergei Lavrov made the claim in a speech to students, casting Russia's war once again as a fight against a Nazi threat.
Earlier, Aleksei Selivanov, a sanctioned collaborator who became a senior official in the occupation administration of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, revealed the meaning behind the term "denazification". "Denazification is re-Russification," he said, adding that where Russian troops arrive, Ukrainian nationhood "ceases to exist," according to United24.
"Wherever Russian troops arrive, Ukrainians cease to exist."
— UNITED24 Media (@United24media) August 31, 2026
At an official event in Moscow, Russian Lieutenant Colonel Alexey Selivanov openly admitted their true goal is the total erasure of Ukrainian identity. pic.twitter.com/53zI9G2GwS
Russia reportedly points on Germany, one of Ukraine's main supporters
Meanwhile, Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the National Security and Defense Council's Center for Countering Disinformation, linked Lavrov's statement to the recent conflict between Germany and Russia over the drone attack on Ukraine's plane in Leipzig.
"Russia’s aggression is now becoming even more overt, with the main focus being placed on the political dismantling of the current elites who refused to acknowledge this aggression right under their noses," Kovalenko said.
Germany has been a long-term supporter of Ukraine, sending tons of aid, including Gepard anti-drone guns and Leopard tanks.
Russia plans Ukraine's new power figures after the war
"This war must be ended so that there is no more Nazism in Europe, which has again spread its metastases here," Lavrov said.
He added that leaving Ukraine's leadership in power would betray those who defeated Nazism in 1945.
The framing collapses on contact with the facts. It was Russia that launched the full-scale invasion on 24 February 2022, and it continues the war today.
Ukraine has no Nazi government. Its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is Jewish and was elected democratically. "Denazification" has functioned since the invasion's first day as a pretext, drawing on the Soviet myth of the Great Patriotic War to recast an attack on Ukrainian identity as a war on fascism.
Earlier, Lavrov said that one of Russia's war goals in Ukraine was to protect the "honor and dignity" of Russian citizens, including their right to use the Russian language and practice the Orthodox faith, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported.
In August, Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), said during a sermon at the Holy Trinity Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent that the Soviet Union's creation of the nuclear bomb was the result of divine intervention.
BRICS summit participants condemned recent attacks on Russia’s railway infrastructure, according to a joint declaration on July 6 from Rio de Janeiro.
"We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks on bridges and railway infrastructure deliberately targeting civilians in the Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh regions of the Russian Federation on May 31, and June 1 and 5 2025, which resulted in the deaths of several civilians, including children," the document says.
Bryansk, Kursk, and Voronezh oblasts are all located near Ukraine’s northeastern border and have played a central role in Russia’s war effort, serving as key logistical hubs and launch sites for missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian cities–often targeting civilian infrastructure and causing casualties.
In their declaration, BRICS leaders also called for a negotiated peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.
“We recall our national positions concerning the conflict in Ukraine as expressed in the appropriate forum, including the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly,” the document said. “We expect that current efforts will lead to a sustainable peace settlement.”
The statement comes a few days after a phone call between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin on July 3, in which Putin said "Russia will continue to pursue its goals" in the war against Ukraine, Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended the summit in person, while Russian President Vladimir Putin participated via video link.
Brazil is a member of the ICC and a signatory to the Rome Statute, meaning it is obliged to arrest Putin if he enters the country.
The ICC issued a warrant for the Russian leader's arrest in March 2023 over the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The BRICS declaration also condemned recent U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as violations of international law and criticized the presence of foreign forces in Syria and Gaza, calling for Israeli withdrawal from Syrian territory.
BRICS, originally composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, has expanded in recent years to include Iran, Egypt, the UAE, Ethiopia, and Indonesia.
The Kyiv IndependentSonya Bandouil
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reiterated Moscow's offer to mediate disputes over Iran’s nuclear program, during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart at the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reported on July 6.
Lavrov met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi to discuss the situation, condemning recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, including attacks on nuclear sites under IAEA safeguards.
Moscow reaffirmed its support for Iran’s right to nuclear energy, and also offered to store Iranian uranium as part of a potential solution.
Although Iran officially denies intentions to pursue nuclear weapons, tensions with the U.S. and Israel remain high following the Iran-Israel conflict in June, which has currently settled into an uncertain ceasefire.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said on June 22 that Iran’s nuclear program must be dismantled to prevent it from threatening the Middle East or the wider world, following U.S. air strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
“Iran is complicit in the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The Iranian regime is providing military assistance to Russia, including the supply of UAVs and technologies that Russia consistently uses to kill people and destroy critical infrastructure,” the statement read.
Russia and Iran have deepened ties since the start of the full-scale invasion. Notably, Iran has provided Russia with thousands of Shahed drones used in attacks against Ukrainian cities, as well as short-range ballistic missiles.
The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek
NATO's increased defense spending will lead to the "collapse" of the alliance, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on June 30, despite Russian officials recently warning that Moscow's own military expenditure is driving the country towards recession.
Lavrov's comments come after NATO leaders last week approved a new defense spending benchmark, committing members to spend at least 5% of GDP on defense and security-related expenditures by 2035, a goal long pushed by the U.S. and endorsed by NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
The week previously, and in a rare public sign that all is not well in Russia, two high-ranking Moscow officials issued separate warnings about the state of the country's economy.
Russian Central Bank Governor Elvira Nabiullina and Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov both highlighted that amid the Kremlin's full-scale war against Ukraine, the tools Moscow once relied on to maintain wartime growth are nearly exhausted.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on June 26 said an arms race between Russia and NATO could lead to Russian President Vladimir Putin's downfall.
"Since (Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski) is such a predictor, he probably foresees that a catastrophic increase in the budget of NATO countries, according to my estimates, will also lead to the collapse of this organization," Lavrov reportedly said.
Putin last week announced that Moscow plans to cut its military expenditure beginning next year, in a rebuke of NATO members' plans to increase defense spending to 5% of GDP.
"We are planning to reduce defence spending. For us, next year and the year after, over the next three-year period, we are planning for this," Putin said, though he did not provide concrete details.
"Europe is thinking about how to increase its spending, on the contrary. So, who is preparing for some kind of aggressive actions? Us or them?"
Western officials and analysts point to Russia's surging military expenditures amid its ongoing full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In 2024, Russia's defense budget reportedly rose 42% in real terms, reaching $462 billion, surpassing the combined spending of all European nations, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
NATO allies have cited Russia's military buildup, sabotage campaigns, and continued aggression against Ukraine as reasons to accelerate defense investments. Rutte warned that Russia could rebuild its military capacity to threaten NATO territory within five years, urging members to act with urgency.
The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan
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