On the night of June 15, 2026, Russia launched another attack on Kyiv, damaging the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, the Dovzhenko Film Studios, and numerous civilian buildings, leaving 5 people dead. In response to the mass shelling, the EU expanded its sanctions list related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, adding 34 individuals and 47 legal entities. EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas noted that this measure was implemented separately from the 21st sanctions package, which remains under preparation.

The list includes companies previously investigated by StateWatch analysts. Specifically, it features LLC RUSTAKT and its owner, Pavel Valerievich Nikitin, both of whom were also recently sanctioned by the United Kingdom. Additionally, the list includes the Chinese company Shenzhen Minghuaxin, which accounted for the majority of component supplies to LLC RUSTAKT. Furthermore, the Federal State Autonomous Institution “Military Innovative Technopark ‘ERA'”, a key hub for drone technology development established by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, was also placed under new EU restrictions. StateWatch analysts previously highlighted all of these entities in their study titled Game-Changing Drones.

Russia’s Fond perspektivnykh issledovaniy (“Advanced Research Foundation,”) the core investor in key Russian unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), was also targeted by EU sanctions. The foundation notably funded the development of the Nerekhta and Marker platforms and established the Unmanned Ground Vehicles Laboratory in Magnitogorsk. These findings were detailed in the study Russian Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) in the War Against Ukraine.