Arkady Dvorkovich, the president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), said on Friday he \u2060was suspending his activity with the organisation after being placed on the EU list of sanctioned Russians. Dvorkovich, a former Russian deputy prime minister, complained that the designation was \u201cunlawful and unfair\u201d. A statement said Viswanathan Anand, an Indian world chess champion, would take over as the federation\u2019s interim president.<\/p>\n
It came as the E\u2060U has unveiled its largest sanctions package \u200bin four years against Russia, targeting 218 individuals \u2060and entities. The EU foreign policy chief, Kaja \u2060Kallas, said the measures hit more than 100 banks and cryptocurrency operators, more than 40 \u200cvessels from Russia\u2019s so-called shadow fleet, \u200bas well as several oil refineries. The package adds more \u2060than 50 military-industrial entities \u200bto the \u200bsanctions list, \u200bincluding key \u200bactors \u200cinvolved in producing \u200bRussia\u2019s \u200blong-range drones. The Russian oil price cap is frozen at $44.10 per barrel for 12 months, preventing an automatic increase that would have raised it to about $58.50.<\/p>\n
The new listings take the total number of designations to nearly 3,000. There is a full asset-freeze on \u206094 Russian financial institutions, nearly all banks, and disconnection of 33 Russian banks from the Swift international payments system. Moscow\u2019s stock exchange \u2060is added to the sanctions. Internationally, banks or cryptocurrency platforms are hit in countries including Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, India, Georgia, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates and Africa.<\/p>\n
The package also targets actors linked to Russia\u2019s satellite \u200bcommunications system being developed as an alternative to Starlink. There are 56 entities and persons added to the sanctions list for involvement in Russia\u2019s military industrial complex \u2013 most of them linked to long-range Garpiya drones. There are 51 entities added to list of companies that face export restrictions on dual-use goods and technology. Some \u2060are in third countries: China, including Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and the UAE.\u200b<\/p>\n