Restrictive measures on account of the Russian aggression on Ukraine

Sanctions against Russia are extensive and strict. New sets of sanctions many be decided without any prior notice. The expected trend is that sanctions will tightened or expanded and it may be a long time before any relaxation of the current sanctions regime against Russia will be seen.

Since early March 2022, Aalto University has refrained from all cooperation with Russian and Belarusian partner organisations in higher education and science. We have not initiated any new projects, and existing cooperation between organisations has been suspended.  Our strong recommendation is that all members of the community respect the university’s commitment even in areas where principle of academic freedom applies and thus our faculty refrain from research collaboration with researchers with an affiliation to Russian and Belarus institutions.

The coverage and reach of the EU sanctions against Russia and Belarus, especially after the introduction of the 5^th sanction package on 9 April 2022, is so extensive that our conclusion is that it is very difficult to conduct academic cooperation under the principles of academic freedom with any persons affiliated with Russian or Belarusian universities or other institutions. For further information please see the materials below. Academic freedom does not justify breach of sanction regulations or non-compliance with the university’s rules or policies (e.g. that working remotely for or in Russia or Belarus is not possible or exporting any Aalto University’s equipment (even a laptop or a phone), data or other materials to Russia or Belarus is forbidden).

The presentations below will give you a brief explanation on the current sanctions regime against Russia. The presentations prepared in Aalto discuss sanctions decided by the European Union. There is also a presentation prepared for the Finnish universities by an outside expert knowledgeable on sanctions. The presentation prepared by an outside expert will give you, in particular, extra information on US regulation that is applicable to Aalto in parallel with the EU regulation.

EDIT: EU has adopted "maintenance and alignment" package on 21 July 2022. Please find below link to the press release issued by the Council of the EU.

Russia’s aggression against Ukraine: EU adopts “maintenance and alignment” package - Consilium (europa.eu) (press release from the Council of the EU on 21 July 2022)

EDIT2: EU has adopted the 8th sanctions package on 6 October 2022. Please find presentation elsewhere on this webpage concerning such parts of the package that are considered most relevant to Aalto. Please also find below link to the press release issued by the Council of the EU.

EU adopts its latest package of sanctions against Russia over the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions - Consilium (europa.eu) (press release from the Council of the EU on 6 October 2022)

EDIT3: EU has adopted the 9th sanctions package on 16 December 2022. Please find below more information on the 9^th sanction package at the websites of the EU Council and EU Commission.

Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: EU adopts 9th package of economic and individual sanctions - Consilium (europa.eu) (Press release issued by the Council of the EU on 16 December 2022) 

Ukraine: EU agrees ninth package of sanctions against Russia (europa.eu) (Information on the 9th sanctions package given by the EU Commission)

Questions and Answers: ninth package of restrictive measures (europa.eu) (Information on the 9th sanctions package given by the EU Commission)

EDIT 4: EU has adopted the 11th sanctions package on 23 June 2023. Please find below more information on the 11th sanctions package at the websites of the EU Council and EU Commission.

11th package of sanctions on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine: additional 71 individuals and 33 entities included in the EU’s sanctions list and new tools to counter circumvention and information warfare - Consilium (europa.eu) (Press release issued by the Council of the European Union on 23 June 2023)

Q&A on the 11th package of sanctions against Russia (europa.eu) (Information on the 11th sanction package given by the EU Commission)

EDIT 5: EU has adopted the 12th sanctions package on 18 December 2023. Please find more information on the 12th sanctions package at the websites of the EU Council and EU Commission.

12th package of sanctions on Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine: additional 61 individuals and 86 entities included in the EU's sanctions list - Consilium (europa.eu)(Press release issued by the Council of the European Union on 18 December 2023)

EU adopts 12th package of sanctions against Russia (europa.eu) (Press release issued by the EU Commission on 18 December 2023)

Point of contact

In sanction matters related to your school or department you should contact the designated lawyer or the designated technology manager.

For general inquiries on sanction matters please contact 

Sampo Kukkonen | Aalto-yliopisto

More information:

EU – General Information on Sanctions against Russia

EU restrictive measures against Russia over Ukraine (since 2014) - Consilium (europa.eu)

EU - Overview on Sanctions against Russia and Frequently Asked Questions on Sanctions

Sanctions adopted following Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine (europa.eu)

Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland – Information on Sanctions against Russia

Russian attack on Ukraine - Ministry for Foreign Affairs (um.fi)

EU – Legislative Instruments for Technology related Restrictions against Russia

EUR-Lex - 02014R0833-20231001 - EN - EUR-Lex (europa.eu) (Consolidated Council Regulation 833/2014, dated 1 October 2023) (NOTE: this document includes all text for the regulation 833/2014 in all sanctions packages up to and including the 11th sanctions package adopted on 23 June 2023)

For all Annexes of the Consolidated Council Regulation please see the above document. Please note that new sanctions packages that may be adopted after the date mentioned above are not included in the above file.

Legislative acts of the 12th sanctions package can be accessed in the Official Journal of the European Union through the below link

L_202302878EN.000101.fmx.xml (europa.eu)

EU - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Concerning Sanctions Adopted Following Russia's Military Aggression against Ukraine and Belarus' Involvement in It

Consolidated version (europa.eu)

EU Dual-Use Items

Publications Office (europa.eu) (Regulation (EU) 2021/821 – EU Regulation for Dual-Use Items)

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/ of 20 October 2021 amending Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards the list of dual-use items (europa.eu) (updated Annex I of EU dual-use regulation)

Support organization for export control and sanctions matters at Aalto University

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