News Brief
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Amidst the longstanding Russia-Ukraine war, for the first time, the European Union is contemplating imposing trade sanctions on around 24 companies from various nations for their alleged involvement in supporting Russia's military actions in Ukraine, as per a Bloomberg report.
In the proposed measures, European companies would be banned from engaging with the listed firms.
The proposal particularly aims to target the supply of electronic components that could potentially be repurposed for use in weapons systems.
The inclusion of firms from countries include India, Sri Lanka, and Turkey.
However, the firms inclusion in the proposed list "does not entail any attribution of responsibility for their actions to the jurisdiction in which they are operating," as per reports.
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India and China have notably been major buyers of Russian oil since the imposition of Western sanctions.
This potential move marks a significant development, possibly targeting Chinese firms for the first time since the onset of the Ukraine conflict.
It's worthwhile to note that previous attempts to sanction Chinese firms were withdrawn after objections were raised from some EU member states.
Also, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had recently stressed the importance of China's neutrality in the conflict during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, emphasising the potential repercussions on international relations and legal standing.