EU considers sanctions against Russian patriarch, chess federation head, others

The European Union is calling for financial sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, the Russian head of the International Chess Federation, a historian who is a close advisor to President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials.

The proposed list, provided by REL, is part of a new round of financial penalties to be considered by the 27-nation bloc. The decision, which requires unanimous approval by all member states, is unlikely to be taken until late June or early July.

The sanctioning of Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church – the largest Orthodox church – is seen as a major step for the EU, which has resisted measures targeting religious figures.

Kirill is widely known for his closeness to the Kremlin and Putin. As head of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is by far the largest Christian denomination in the country, Kirill has given his blessing to the war against Ukraine, which is now in its fifth year.

This contributed to the schism between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which officially separated from the Moscow Patriarchate.

According to declassified Swiss documents, Kirill is also suspected of working for Soviet intelligence agencies.

The EU document says Kirill "constantly justified and supported Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine", calling it "sacred".

Among the other figures who will be targeted by EU sanctions is Vladimir Medinsky, a historian who has received criticism from other academics for his reinterpretations of Russian and Ukrainian history.

Medinsky was culture minister under Putin and was a member of the negotiating team sent by the Kremlin to talk to Ukraine about ending the war.

A series of Russian history books that Medinsky supervised include a justification for Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "The West was obsessed with destabilizing the situation inside Russia. The goal was not hidden: to break up Russia and seize control of its resources."

The EU proposal says Medinski is "a central figure in government propaganda."

Among the 42 names included in the proposed sanctions list are Arkady Dvorkovich, a former deputy prime minister who now heads the International Chess Federation, known as FIDE; Russian Sports Minister Mikhail Degtyarev; and the head of Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company, Vagit Alekperov.