Latvia is the last-minute block on the package that would renew European Union (EU) sanctions on nearly 3,000 people and companies accused of sustaining Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to The Guardian.

Latvian prime minister Andris Kulbergs wrote on Monday, 22 September 2026, that “extending sanctions for 36 months would be the right step”, but that he cannot accept the price being the removal of billionaires Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman from the list. Without a deal, the sanctions lapse at the end of this Tuesday, 22 September 2026; a short one-week extension, already used once, looks like the likely outcome. France and Slovakia are pushing the delistings, and Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, called the plan “unacceptable”. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said all western sanctions are illegal and should be revoked.