Court upholds EU sanctions against Russian arms company

The European Union Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday upheld EU sanctions against the manufacturer of Russian anti-aircraft weapons, Almaz-Antey. The group's assets in the EU will remain frozen.

Almaz-Antey is on the list of Russian entities on which the EU imposed sanctions in 2014 in the form of an asset freeze in connection with the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The company appealed the decision to an EU court, arguing that the EU did not provide any evidence of the company's commitment to destabilizing Ukraine.

According to judges in Luxembourg, the EU Council should not prove that the weapons produced by Almaz-Antey are used in eastern Ukraine. Such evidence would be difficult to obtain in the course of the conflict, the court noted. He believes that "the company's activities undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."