DISINFO: EU imposes sanctions on Russia due to US pressure
SUMMARY
The European Union imposed large-scale sanctions on Russia due to US pressure.
RESPONSE
Another conspiracy theory that the US controls the policies of the European Union. All EU countries are independent states whose policies are not regulated externally by any other country. The first wave of EU sanctions against Russia was introduced immediately after the annexation of the Ukrainian Crimea - in March 2014. The European Union introduced the first sanctions against Russia for starting a war in Donbas in July 2014. The EU introduces various types of restrictive measures: diplomatic measures, individual restrictive measures, economic sanctions and more. All sanctions packages are renewed every six months for five years, each time the list of sanctions is gradually expanding. On 14th October 2019, the Council extended the restrictive measures by the EU addressing the use and proliferation of chemical weapons until 16 October 2020 which apply to four people involved in the Salisbury attack. Read more about the sanctions here and previous cases can be consulted here.