As Russia’s war in Ukraine entered its fourth year, Western peace efforts intensified in 2025.
So did Western sanctions, when those peace efforts stalled.
The European Union designated nearly 900 additional parties under its Russia program in 2025, a Kharon review found, marking the bloc’s most active year since the first of the war. The EU also tightened its enforcement mechanisms to match. The Trump administration, for its part, rolled out just one sanctions package against Russia since taking office, but it was a significant one, combining with the EU and U.K. in October to hit Russia’s largest oil producers.
Kharon investigations throughout the year chronicled everything from the operations of Russia’s oil-shipping shadow fleet to its procurement of dual-use Western tech to the foreign facilitators that are helping it circumvent sanctions and sustain its wartime economy.
These were the Brief’s eight top Russia stories of 2025:
So did Western sanctions, when those peace efforts stalled.
The European Union designated nearly 900 additional parties under its Russia program in 2025, a Kharon review found, marking the bloc’s most active year since the first of the war. The EU also tightened its enforcement mechanisms to match. The Trump administration, for its part, rolled out just one sanctions package against Russia since taking office, but it was a significant one, combining with the EU and U.K. in October to hit Russia’s largest oil producers.
Kharon investigations throughout the year chronicled everything from the operations of Russia’s oil-shipping shadow fleet to its procurement of dual-use Western tech to the foreign facilitators that are helping it circumvent sanctions and sustain its wartime economy.
These were the Brief’s eight top Russia stories of 2025:
