Estonia imposes national sanctions on Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov after their removal from the EU blacklist

Estonia has imposed independent national sanctions against Russian oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Alisher Usmanov after they were controversially removed from the European Union’s expanded sanctions list. Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna signed the sanctions decree in New York on Wednesday and urged other countries to adopt similar measures.

Tallinn announced that it did not support the EU decision and abstained in the vote. Fridman and Usmanov were removed from the list following pressure from France and Slovakia, in a compromise that allowed European sanctions against approximately 3,000 Russian individuals and entities to be extended for three years.

The decision drew criticism from Ukraine. The special envoy for sanctions warned that removing the two men must not set a precedent, while President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the measure “suicidal and counterproductive.”

Latvia also initially opposed extending the sanctions but later abstained, allowing the extension to be adopted. France reportedly cited national security concerns, while Luxembourg reportedly supported removing Fridman in the context of a $16 billion legal dispute.