EU reacts to Russia's decision to bar only anti-war party from elections

The EU has said it is no surprise that Russia's Supreme Court has ruled that Yabloko, the only anti-war party on the ballot, should be barred from upcoming elections to the Russian State Duma.

Source: European Commission spokesperson Anitta Hipper during a briefing in Brussels, as reported by European Pravda

Details: Hipper said the Russian court's decision is further evidence of Russia's actions against fundamental freedoms and its continued pressure on opposition figures.

"This basically shows that Russia is afraid, because they truly need to eliminate any dissenting voice. So by silencing the political opposition, the Kremlin is also removing any domestic voice that has been critical of its unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine. I would say this comes as a surprise, but it's not," she said.

Background:

• On 10 August, Russia's Supreme Court barred Yabloko, the only anti-war party on the ballot, from contesting the elections to the Russian State Duma.
• On 23 July, the Council of the EU finally adopted a new Russia sanctions package, which it said "delivers a powerful blow to Russian energy, financial services and cryptocurrencies".
• This came after the package had been blocked for various reasons by several countries, the last of which was Greece.
• It was later reported that the EU is rethinking its approach to sanctions against Russia.

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