EU's New Sanctions Against Russia Target 96 Firms, Ban Sputnik Arabic, RT Arabic

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union's 10th package of sanctions against Russia targets 96 organizations and bans the broadcasting of the RT Arabic channel and the Sputnik Arabic, the Council of the European Union said on Saturday.

"Today's decision expands the list of entities supporting directly Russia's military and industrial complex in its war of aggression by additional 96 entities, thereby imposing tighter export restrictions on them," the statement read.

The statement also said that "the Council initiated the process for suspending the broadcasting licences of two additional media outlets: RT Arabic and Sputnik Arabic."

The Council made a decision to suspend the broadcasting licenses of the media outlets in order to address Russia's "systematic, international campaign of disinformation and information manipulation intended to destabilise its neighbouring countries, the EU and its member states," the statement added.

"These outlets are under the permanent direct or indirect control of the leadership of the Russian Federation and have been used by latter for its continuous and concerted disinformation and war propaganda actions, which legitimise Russia's aggression and undermine support for Ukraine," the document read.

The EU has so far approved ten packages of sanctions against Russia, which include financial and trade restrictions, as well as individual sanctions. The bloc's personal sanctions against Russia currently apply to over 1,400 individuals and more than 170 organizations.