The latest round of EU sanctions on Russia has swept up an unusual and high-profile figure: an Orthodox priest widely described in Russia as President Vladimir Putin’s “confessor.” On Monday, the European Union imposed measures on more than 80 people and entities over Moscow’s war in Ukraine, blending spiritual influence, military supply chains, and propaganda networks into a single sweeping action.

The Bishop at the Center

The most striking name on the list is Georgiy Shevkunov, better known as Metropolitan Tikhon, a senior bishop in the Russian Orthodox Church. The EU said he was targeted for spreading Russian propaganda and disinformation aimed at justifying the invasion of Ukraine.

Russian media frequently refer to Shevkunov as Putin’s “personal priest” and “confessor,” a characterization he has never confirmed nor denied. His ties to contested territory deepen his significance: in 2023, he was named Metropolitan of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

His prominence has also made him a target of a very different kind. In February of last year, Russia’s FSB security service claimed it had arrested two people after foiling a Ukrainian-ordered plot to kill the prelate.

A Broad Sweep of Targets

Shevkunov was just one of many caught in the new measures. In total, EU countries added 34 individuals and 47 entities to the Russia sanctions list on Monday, reaching across several arenas of the war effort.

The sanctions struck at a range of actors, including:

• Individuals and organizations involved in manufacturing and supplying drones and other military equipment to Russian forces
• Alleged Russian propagandists, among them a social media influencer identified as Alexandra Jost
• Firms and people helping Russia fund its war through the shipment and export of oil
• Fifteen people, including judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials, allegedly tied to the poisoning of murdered opposition figure Alexei Navalny

The penalties themselves include asset freezes, travel bans, and a prohibition on making any funds available to those blacklisted.

The EU’s Message

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas framed the action as part of a sustained campaign to force an end to the war. She said the measures strike at the heart of Russia’s military-industrial complex, its shadow fleet, and the networks fueling Moscow’s hybrid attacks against Europe.

Kallas emphasized the cumulative weight of Western pressure, noting that sanctions have already cost Russia over $1 trillion. Using a vivid metaphor, she described the effort as collapsing the foundations of Russia’s war economy brick by brick, adding that every measure shrinks Moscow’s room for maneuver.

Sanctions Amid Fresh Bloodshed

The timing of the announcement underscored the stakes. The sanctions came on the same day that Russia launched a barrage of missiles at several major Ukrainian cities, killing at least 11 people and sparking a blaze at one of the most important Orthodox monasteries, a grim irony given the religious dimension of the day’s penalties.

In response to the assault, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for greater pressure on Moscow from the G7 leaders gathering for a summit in France, an event otherwise expected to be dominated by the US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war.

The Wider Conflict

Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine has grown into Europe’s worst conflict since World War II, with thousands of civilians and hundreds of thousands of troops killed. Against that backdrop, the EU’s latest measures represent another attempt to tighten the economic and political vise on Moscow while the fighting rages on.

This is a developing story, and further developments are likely as Western allies weigh additional pressure on Russia in the days ahead.