The EU Strengthens its Stance on Russia, Posing a Risk to the Russian Economy

The EU has strengthened its stance on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, imposing new sanctions on Russian trade, and introducing changes to funding and a road-map of future defences against Russian attack. These plans pose a threat to the Russian economy and present an attempt to pressure Russia into peace negotiations.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at EU Summit. Thursday, March 6, 2025. Photo: AP Newsroom

In October 2025, the European Union (EU), at their summit in Brussels, agreed to new sanctions against Russia, as a result of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The sanctions target Russia’s oil and gas trading capabilities. 

The Russian economy is heavily reliant on oil and gas trading, and these sanctions are suspected to have significant consequences on the country, whose economy is already failing as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Since the beginning of the war, Russia’s Ruble has seen a significant decrease in its relative value. In the last year alone, the Russian Ruble has fallen in value by over 17%. The decrease is suspected to be linked to the decrease in international trade in Russia, resulting from sanctions and falling revenue on oil and gas exports. The Russian trade surplus has shrunk as they export fewer goods than before the Russia-Ukraine war, decreasing the exchange rate of the Ruble.

After their initial invasion of Ukraine, Russia saw a large trade surplus, with high oil prices and falling imports immediately after. The Russian Ruble, in the month of February 2022, saw a more than 30% increase in value. 

However, this was short lived. As the EU, and other Western countries, rolled out trade sanctions and tariffs on Russia, clarifying their stance on the war, Russia’s exports fell, causing their economy to plummet.

Since the beginning of the conflict, many Western companies have pulled out of doing business in Russia. The streets of Russia however, still present a facade of normality, as many popular chains have been replaced by a flurry of off-brand alternatives. Instead of Starbucks, the average Russian consumer is instead faced with ‘Stars Coffee’, where Starbucks used to stand.

However, sanctions from Western countries and corporations continue to pose a significant risk to the Russian economy. Blows to the economy since the beginning of the war appear obvious; the auto, travel, and gas industries all took significant losses. The falls are attributed to visa and airline bans, Western auto manufacturers abandoning business in Russia, and export sanctions posed by Western countries.

EU leaders meet at an informal summit at the Danish Parliament on October 1, 2025. Photo: AP News

The new developments at the EU summit held in October, on top of the 18 packages of sanctions against Russia that the EU has imposed since 2022, aim to push for a cease fire in the region. 

EU leaders who form part of the “coalition of the willing” (a group of countries who come together to achieve a political objective) remain unwilling to accept a deal where Ukraine surrenders land captured by Russian forces in return for the ending of the war, as suggested most recently by President Trump. 

The EU has shown it is unwilling to back down from the Russian threat, with the EU most recently considering using frozen Russian funds in European countries to fund a loan helping war efforts in Ukraine. New EU plans to strengthen defences against Russian hostility show a strengthening of the EU stance against Russia in the continuing conflict in Ukraine. These plans present a threat to Russia aimed at pressuring the country into peace negotiations as the war nears its 4th year.