EU countries close to agreement on new Russia sanctions, diplomats say

European Union countries are close to agreeing a 13th package of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, and expect to pass it by the second anniversary of the war. The EU wants the package to be agreed ahead of the war's Feb. 24 anniversary.

European Union countries are close to agreeing a 13th package of sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, and expect to pass it by the second anniversary of the war. The new package will see nearly 200 entities and individuals added to the list but no fresh sectoral measures.

The diplomats said Hungary still needed time to analyse the package. The new measures are expected to be discussed when the EU's foreign ministers gather in Brussels on Monday and at an ambassadors meeting next Wednesday. The EU wants the package to be agreed ahead of the war's Feb. 24 anniversary. The EU also adopted legislation last week that is a first step to using revenues from the over 200 billion euros of immobilised Russian central bank assets in Europe to rebuild Ukraine.