Kyrgyzstan first targeted by EU anti-circumvention tool

10:58, 23 апреля 2026, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Elena KHOKHLOVA

Envoys of the European Union, meeting in Brussels on April 22, approved a new package of sanctions against Russia, which had previously been blocked by Hungary and Slovakia due to the suspension of Russian oil supplies via the Druzhba pipeline, Bloomberg reported.

The envoys reached agreement after Ukraine announced the completion of repairs to the pipeline and the resumption of oil flows.

The procedure is expected to be finalized later today, after which the package will be formally adopted and published in the EU Official Journal.

The European Commission had initially planned to adopt the 20th sanctions package in February, but the process was delayed, Reuters reported.

The new measures aim to further cut Russia’s energy revenues and restrict its military-industrial complex. In particular, the sanctions target drone production, the so-called «shadow fleet,» and introduce a phased ban on services related to Russian liquefied natural gas.

Special attention in the package is given to third countries. For the first time, the EU is applying its anti-circumvention tool to Kyrgyzstan.

Under the decision, a direct ban has been imposed on the export from Europe to the republic of certain categories of dual-use goods. The restrictions cover:

high-precision metalworking machines, including computer numerical control (CNC) equipment;
communications equipment, including modems, routers, radios, and other data transmission devices.

The EU believes Kyrgyzstan has become a systematic channel for the re-export of these goods to Russia, and that technical consultations with Bishkek have failed to strengthen border controls.

In addition, a number of Kyrgyz logistics companies have been cut off from access to EU transport infrastructure.

Until now, the EU had imposed sanctions only on specific companies in third countries, such as in China, Uzbekistan, or Kyrgyzstan itself. The new move marks the first time restrictions are applied to an entire trade channel with a country.

Timeline of sanctions pressure

Amid suspicions of sanctions circumvention, companies from Kyrgyzstan and other countries have increasingly come under EU and US restrictions.

In November last year, Сapital Bank of Central Asia and the A7 cross-border payment platform were sanctioned by Canada.
In October 2025, the EU added two Kyrgyz banks — Tolubay and Eurasian Savings Bank — to its sanctions lists.
In August, the United Kingdom imposed restrictions on Сapital Bank and cryptocurrency exchanges Grinex (previously sanctioned by the US) and Meer.
In February 2025, Keremet Bank was also sanctioned by the UK, after earlier being listed by the United States.
The first sanctions against several private companies in Kyrgyzstan were introduced by the United States and the United Kingdom in June 2024.

Kyrgyzstan has repeatedly stated that sanctions against its banks are unfounded. President Sadyr Japarov, speaking at the United Nations in 2025, criticized Western restrictions on the country, calling them interference in internal affairs and pressure hindering the development of a still emerging economy.