Switzerland on Wednesday approved the 20th sanctions package against Russia, aligning itself with the European Union, Swissinfo reported on Thursday.
The Swiss government imposed new restrictions on Russian-based LNG tankers, icebreakers, and terminals, while also banning the sale or transfer of tankers to Russia.
The government also activated the anti-circumvention tool for the first time, aimed at preventing the circumvention of existing sanctions through third countries.
In addition, Switzerland decided to extend the existing export ban to cover goods intended to strengthen Russia militarily and technologically, as well as goods intended to bolster Russian industry.
The government also banned the use of Russian platforms for cryptocurrency transfers and exchanges.
It further adopted measures to protect Swiss companies, including their intellectual property rights, from unfavourable Russian court rulings.
The EU adopted new measures against Russia on April 23 as part of its 20th package of sanctions. These include measures to further weaken the Russian energy sector and to prevent circumvention of the sanctions.
These enforcement mechanisms follow an earlier step by Switzerland in May 2026, when Switzerland initially added 115 individuals and entities to its asset freeze list under the same package framework.
Currently, around 2,790 individuals, companies and organisations in Switzerland are subject to asset freezes in connection with Russia’s war against Ukraine.
